A Difficult Reunion
by Written-Violinist
Summary: Full summary inside.
1. Prologue

**Hey guys! I decided to move the summary into the prologue, since I wanted the summary to explain a bit. Not to mention I need to put the characters' ages in here, just so things are clear.**

**Summary: When Tails's favorite long-lost sister saves the fox and Sonic from Eggman, she abruptly leaves. Tails is forced to reveal a part of his life that he never thought he'd go back to. The duo go on a journey to find her, running into old friends who are just as shocked by the news as Sonic is. Who is Robyn? Where has she been, and why did she leave? More importantly, what does Eggman want with her? As things become more and more unraveled, such as Tails's three other sisters coming back into the picture, as well as the hedgehog obsessed with Robyn, Tails will have to adjust to the many changes that have happened to his family. Friendships will be tested, romance will definitely spark, and everyone will learn the importance of family, blood-related or not. Love triangle SonOCShad, Taismo in later chapters, Knuxade, Rouge X OC, Silver X OC, Cream X OC (but more of a kid-friendly way), Maria Robotnik X OC, and multiple OCxOC pairings.**

**Character Ages**

**Sonic: 18  
Tails: 12  
Knuckles: 19  
Shadow: Ageless  
Amy: 16  
Cream: 10  
Vanilla: 33  
Blaze: 19  
Silver: 18  
Vector: 28  
Espio: 21**  
**Charmy: 10  
Shade: 19  
Tikal: Looks to be 18  
Chaos (the God of Chao): Unknown  
Robyn: 17  
Zoey: 20  
Alustriel: 20  
Sapphira: 16  
Kelly: 11  
Zap: Immortal  
Windy: Immortal  
Katherine: Looks 14 but is actually much older  
Xerius: Looks to be 16 or 17  
Xsus: 10  
Chaos (the hedgehog): Looks to be 16 but is much older  
Sierra: Same as Katherine  
Strife: 17  
Aero: Ageless  
Shawn: Unknown  
Dr. Eggman: Unknown**

_Prologue_

The lake was quiet. It was the same as ever: crystal-blue, and still as the night. The sky above was the same, except it had some fluffy white clouds drifting lazily across it. It seemed to be a perfectly fine day…

Except for a certain yellow-furred, two-tailed fox.

Miles Prower, or better known to his friends as "Tails", stared out over the lake. The Tornado was parked next to him. For once, the plane wasn't on the kitsune's mind. He was thinking about the many times that he had been out here. This used to be a special spot for him when he was young. He had so many fond memories of the place.

_But they are all of her… my only remaining family… I wish she was here to see this,_ Tails thought.

"Tails!"

The young fox jumped. He turned around to see his best friend/"Big brother", Sonic the Hedgehog, standing behind him, his trademark grin playing out on his face. "Oh… Hi, Sonic."

Sonic arched an eyebrow. "What were you thinking about?"

"Nothing." Tails couldn't hide the grimace as soon as he heard the bitterness in his tone.

Sonic sat beside him, his emerald eyes searching his best friend's face for any hint of emotion. "Come on, Tails. You were obviously lost in thought about something. What was it?"

"None of your business!" Tails snapped.

Sonic blinked. "Whoa… why are you so snappy all of a sudden?"

"I'm NOT! Just leave me alone!" Tails fumed as he got up and stormed off.

**-XxXxX-**

Sonic watched as Tails disappeared from sight. He didn't understand his best friend's behavior. Simple as that.

_He's been acting like this for the past day and a half. Something is bothering him, and he won't tell me what,_ Sonic thought.

It irritated him that his best friend was troubled, and there was nothing he could do to help. With an annoyed sigh, the cobalt hero got up and sped off, desperate to clear his mind.

**-XxXxX-**

As soon as he got to the edge of the forest, Tails felt guilty. He knew that Sonic had only been trying to help. The way he had reacted hadn't been necessary. After all, no one knew why he was so upset… because he never shared that tidbit of his life with them.

"I better go apologize to him. After all… I could use a sympathetic ear," Tails mused.

He turned on his heel and headed back to the lake. When he got there, however, his best friend was nowhere in sight.

"Hmm… I bet he went back to Station Square," Tails said to no one in particular.

He hopped into the Tornado and started the engine. As soon as it was ready, Tails soared into the sky and went in search of Sonic.

**What will happen next? Will Tails tell Sonic why he's so upset? Stay tuned!**


	2. Attack and a Surprise

_**Disclaimer: Sonic, Tails, and Eggman belong to SEGA. The new character belongs to me.**_

_Chapter One_

"Thanks." Sonic accepted his chilidog from the smiling vendor and continued walking. It was a beautiful day, but he couldn't bring himself to enjoy it. He couldn't stop wondering why Tails had lashed out at him earlier. Tails had NEVER gotten that mad at him before. Well, except the time with his microwave… but Tails had been there when it had happened, so it hadn't been a secret. Whatever was bothering Tails must have happened when he wasn't around.

A sudden _whoosh_ing sound overhead caused the blue hedgehog to look up. Ironically enough, his best friend was flying the Tornado right above him. He waved frantically to get his attention. "TAILS!"

Tails looked down, and waved shyly in recognition. He began to lower the plane, taking careful caution not to crash into anything. Within a few minutes, he was hopping out of the plane while his cobalt pal was jogging towards him. "Tails, hey."

Tails dusted himself off, and then looked up at Sonic. "Hi… Sonic, I'm sorry that I snapped at you. There's some stuff that has been going on…"

Sonic chuckled. "I noticed. Why don't I get you an ice cream, and then we'll talk?"

-XxXxX-

Tails twirled his spoon, thus turning his sundae into ice cream soup. Sonic was busy shoveling his sundae into his mouth, waiting for Tails to begin talking. It had been at least ten minutes since Sonic had paid for the ice cream, and it had been a very awkward ten minutes.

Finally, Tails swallowed a spoonful of ice cream, leaned forward, and looked at Sonic. "Okay… Here it goes. When I was little, I-"

**CRASH!**

The duo jumped at the sudden noise, and looked towards the center of town. Sonic gritted his teeth when he saw a ginormous robot with a familiar face on the side. "Eggman!"

He got up, completely forgetting about his unfinished sundae, and sped off. Tails also got up and left his sundae to follow Sonic. Right now, finding out what the self-proclaimed "evil genius" was up to was more important. Once they got to the center of town, they skidded (well, Sonic skidded- Tails landed behind him) to a stop. There were a whole bunch of citizens running in different directions and screaming. Sonic looked up to see, sure enough, his arch-nemesis sitting in the head of the robot. "Eggman!"

The evil scientist looked down and chuckled. "Ahh, Sonic. So nice to see you again. As much as it pains me to say this, I don't want to fight you right now."

Sonic frowned. "What are you talking about?"

"You heard me, you speedy rodent. I do not wish to battle you right now. My business is with someone else today. Now, if you'll excuse me…"

Eggman turned his robot around, only to find that Sonic had zipped around and was now in front of him again. "I don't know what you're up to, but I'm not going to stand aside and let you bother people."

Eggman growled. "Very well. You asked for it!"

The two began fighting. Eggman started dealing heavy blows that shook the ground, trying to smash Sonic into the ground. However, due to his amazing speed, the blue hero managed to dodge each attack and deal an attack of his own. Unfortunately, they barely made a dent in Eggman's latest creation.

Eggman cackled. "My new robot is made of a very rare metal that is very hard to break! You'll never be able to destroy it!"

He pressed a button. The robot's right hand immediately shot out and grabbed the surprised hedgehog!

"Nrgh!" Sonic began to struggle for freedom. But no matter how many times he tried, he just couldn't break free. One thing was for sure: this metal was tough to break.

"SONIC!"

The blue hedgehog looked over to see Tails flying towards him. "Tails, be careful!"

Eggman chortled again. He pressed another button, and the robot's free hand shot out. It grabbed the surprised fox and slammed him into the ground!

"TAILS!" Sonic shouted.

Eggman began to laugh his sinister laugh again as he removed the hand to reveal a severely bruised Tails. "Foolish fox! He should have known better than to challenge me!"

Sonic was too stunned to make a retort. He continued to stare down at his best friend, bruises and everything, on the ground below him.

Eggman brought the hedgehog face-to-face with him. "Now for you. There is nothing you can do to save yourself! Say goodbye, Sonic the Hedge-"

BAM!

A ball of what appeared to be purple lightning fire came out of nowhere and slammed into the robot. It stared stupidly at the hole in its chest, and then exploded. Sonic immediately broke free as the grip on him began to loosen. He landed on the ground and watched as the robot fell flat on its back. The third CRASH shook the ground violently. The blue hero looked in the direction that the purple lightning fire had come from. There, standing on top of a building, was a cloaked figure. There was a moderate breeze that was causing the cloak to flap around behind the person.

The individual jumped down gracefully, unphased by everyone staring, and walked over to a stunned Eggman, who was inconspicuously trying to get away. "You're not running away, are you?"

The voice was feminine. It had a beautiful, sarcastic ring to it. Sonic stared at her in puzzlement. Whoever she was, she knew Eggman.

Eggman was wincing as he faced the girl. "W-Who, me? Of course not."

The girl tsked in disapproval. "I always knew you were a sniveling coward."

All eyes widened, except for Eggman's (and Tails because he was still unconscious). The evil scientist managed a weak smirk. "I see that you're still very critical, my dear girl."

She didn't respond to that. Instead, she reached over and smacked Eggman across the face. The crowd that had gathered around them gasped at the sound.

Eggman recoiled, wincing as he rubbed his cheek. "Ow! You… you've gotten stronger…"

"That's not even my full strength. Now, I would run if I were you… unless you want to witness my full strength?" the girl asked innocently.

Eggman gulped. "Um… n-no!"

He scrambled into his chair and zoomed away as fast as he could. Sonic stared after him. He had never seen Eggman that scared before, except for several times that he thwarted the wicked scientist's plans. He quickly turned his attention back to the girl. She turned away from him and walked over to Tails, who was still bruised and unconscious on the ground. She knelt beside him and gently put a hand on his forehead. Sonic's eyes widened in amazement as the young kitsune started to glow a little and his bruises became less visible.

Tails slowly opened his eyes. "Urgh…"

He sat up, gingerly rubbing his head. Then he looked up and saw the cloaked figure kneeling beside him. His eyes widened as he scanned her. She stood up, not saying a word. Then she lifted a hand, pulled her cloak off, and threw it into the air.

She was a slender grey fox with beautiful, dark emerald-green eyes. She had a small smile on her face that she was obviously trying to hide. She wore a thin black blouse with a white lacy cami underneath, dark jean shorts that went a quarter ways down her legs, and black knee-length boots. She had a small silver heart-shaped locket around her neck with two small diamonds in it. One was black, the other was silver. She looked a bit pale, and her face looked a little worn out.

She smiled sadly at Tails's wide-eyed expression. He stood up and stared at her. But before he could make his mouth move to say something, she touched the locket and vanished. Everyone began to walk away, murmuring things to one another that had traces of excitement and disappointment.

Sonic walked over to Tails as the square began to empty. The young kitsune was now staring at the ground in shock. "Tails? Who… do you know who that was?"

Tails swallowed, and then looked up at his best friend. "That… that was… my big sister."

What? Tails has a sister? How will Sonic react? Stay tuned!


	3. Short Explanation and Trouble

_**Disclaimer: Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles belong to SEGA. Robyn belongs to me.**_

_Chapter Two_

Sonic's green eyes widened in shock. "W… What?"

Tails looked around, and then motioned for Sonic to follow him. The blue hedgehog tagged along behind the kitsune as they headed back to the X Tornado. Once there, Tails glanced around to make sure that they were alone. Then he turned to Sonic. "Okay… the reason I've been acting so snippy is because it's been seven years since my remaining family was taken from me… my big sister, Robyn."

Sonic blinked. "That's almost as long as I've known you… and I never knew that you had a sister…"

"I don't like to talk about her… because then I remember all of the good times with her, and it makes me cry."

Tails looked like he was already tearing up. He drew in a shaky breath before continuing. "Robyn was the one who raised me, since it was just the two of us. She knew me better than anyone. She did everything she possibly could to protect me. She was more than my big sister… she was my best friend."

The kitsune wiped at his eyes. Sonic looked a tiny bit tearful too as he stared at his best friend. "Wow, Tails… it sounds like you and Robyn were extremely close."

"We were…" Tails looked up at the sky. "Then, one day, she got really sick. She could hardly get out of bed. I made sure that she was comfortably, and then I went into the forest to pick some berries for her. When I came back, she was in the backyard, surrounded by robots."

Sonic's eyes widened again. "No…"

Tails nodded. "It was Eggman… she was pleading with him about something. He refused. She was too weak to defend herself when he fired some sort of beam at her. She passed out. One of the robots picked her up. I tried to stop them, but I didn't stand a chance. They knocked me out and left with her."

Tails closed his eyes and clenched his fists. The tears were sliding down his furry cheeks. "If you hadn't found me… I'd probably be dead."

"Tails…" Sonic patted his friend on the shoulder. "But, wait… if you and Robyn were so close all that time ago, then why did she leave just now?"

Tails opened his eyes and looked at the ground. "I don't know… I bet that she thinks that because I was young when she was taken, I won't remember her."

"Hmm…" Sonic nodded absently.

"My question is how she got the way she is now," the kitsune said as he continued looking at the ground.

Sonic blinked. "What do you mean?"

"When I was young, we looked quite alike. But you saw how she looked…" Tails trailed off.

"Hmm. I guess we'll have to find out what happened to her," Sonic smiled.

Tails looked up. "Huh?"

Sonic gave him a thumbs-up and a grin. "We're going to scout around and see if there is anybody who might know where she is. And when we find her, we'll ask questions."

Tails's face lit up. "Really? You mean it, Sonic?"

"Sure, I mean it. I can tell how much you miss her and how much you want to be reunited with her," the cerulean hedgehog replied.

**-XxXxX-**

As soon as she appeared at the edge of the forest, a tear slid down her cheek. She reached into her tail, pulled out a picture, and stared at it. It had been taken on Tails's third birthday, nearly nine years ago. She moved her index finger to Tails's happy face covered in cake and smiled sadly. She longed to see him smile again. She had longed to see it for the past seven years.

She looked up at the sky. The stunned expression on her little brother's face flashed before her eyes. It had taken a lot of willpower to touch her locket and warp away from him. She wanted to reunite with Tails, but she knew now that he didn't remember her. His expression had proved it. Blinking back tears, she sat down and drew her knees to her chest. She stared out over the cliff, over the sapphire-blue water below. She was too absorbed in her memories and sadness to hear the footsteps behind her.

**-XxXxX-**

"No luck…" Tails looked defeated.

Sonic put a hand on his shoulder sympathetically. "Don't worry, Tails. We'll find her. It's only three in the afternoon."

Tails plopped down on a bench and sighed. "I don't know, Sonic… Robyn is the kind of person who wants to keep to herself. She likes her privacy. She won't be found unless she wants to be found."

"Hmm…" Sonic sat beside him. The two sat there for what felt like forever until they heard someone calling out to them. "Sonic! Tails!"

The two turned to see Knuckles waving frantically at them. "Knuckles!"

The echidna skidded to a stop beside them. He put his hands on his knees and tried to catch his breath before continuing. "Someone… someone's in trouble!"

Sonic and Tails immediately jumped up. "What? Who?"

"I don't know. I was taking a walk on the other side of Apotos when I found her," Knuckles replied.

Sonic froze. "…'Her'?"

Knuckles nodded. "Follow me."

Sonic and Tails shared several worried glances as they followed Knuckles through Apotos. They both could tell that they were sharing the same fear of who the girl in trouble was. However, Knuckles didn't seem to notice their expressions. He kept darting into narrow alleys and running through the streets, which almost made it challenging for Sonic and Tails to keep up.

When they finally arrived on the other side, Knuckles paused. "Hmm… AHA! She's over here!"

He led Sonic and Tails over to the cliff edge. Sonic's stomach lurched as his fears were confirmed.

The girl in trouble was none other Tails's sister, Robyn.

**Sorry this chapter is so short. The next chapter is a bit longer.**


	4. Interesting Discoveries

_**Disclaimer: The only character belonging to me is Robyn. Everyone else belongs to SEGA. Oh, Dr. Lynn Walters is just someone I threw in there- she won't appear again.**_

_Chapter Three_

Sonic stared at Robyn. She was sprawled out on the ground, just a few feet away from the edge of the cliff. There was a small pool of blood emanating from beneath her, and there was blood in her hair and fur.

Tails knelt beside her, his blue eyes wide with shock. "No…"

He gently turned her over and yelped in horror at the sight of a small hole in her stomach. "No! Sonic, look!"

Sonic knelt beside him. His green eyes widened in shock at the sight of the hole. "Oh, no… we need to get her to the hospital."

He looked at Tails. The kitsune had tears in his eyes. "Don't worry, Tails. She'll be all right."

Knuckles looked confused and annoyed as Sonic gently lifted the unconscious fox. "What the hell is going on here?"

"We'll explain everything later after we get her some help. Now get in," Sonic replied as he went over to the X Tornado and put Robyn inside.

Knuckles rolled his eyes as he jumped in. "Geez…"

Tails threw himself into the pilot's seat and began frantically pushing buttons. He didn't notice as his seat belt fastened itself over his lap. Within minutes, they were on their way.

**-XxXxX-**

Sonic watched as the doctors and nurses rushed Robyn down the hall and out of sight. He bit his lip for a second before turning to Tails. His friend was inconspicuously trying to wipe the tears away again.

"She'll be all right, Tails. If she can survive Eggman, then she can survive some blood loss," he said, trying to sound convincing.

Knuckles looked extremely annoyed. "Are you going to tell me what's going on or not?"

"Yeah. Let's go to the café, it'll be quieter there," Sonic said.

The trio turned away and headed for the elevator. Once they got downstairs, they walked out of the hospital and headed to the café a couple doors away. Sonic ordered three cappuccinos, and then led his two friends to a table in the back. Luckily, the place was pretty much empty, so they didn't have to worry about being overheard.

The trio sat. Each took a hot cup of cappuccino and took a small sip. Knuckles set his down, put an arm on the back of the chair, and looked at Sonic and Tails. "All right. What's going on?"

The hedgehog and the fox looked at each other, and then back at the echidna. Tails took a deep breath before speaking. "I know that fox… she's my sister."

Knuckles's eyes widened. "Sister…?"

Tails nodded, and then spilled the story. Sonic jumped in a couple of times, especially when Tails told Knuckles what had happened in Apotos. Knuckles made no comment as he listened- he just sipped his cappuccino casually.

Once Tails finished, Knuckles leaned back in his chair. "I've known you for a long time, and I never knew that you had a sister…"

"Like I said, I don't like to talk about her… since I tear up every time I think about her," Tails said.

"Tails, you said that she looked more like you when you two were younger?" Sonic asked.

Tails nodded. "Yeah. If she had been my height and hadn't worn a dress, nobody would have been able to tell us apart."

Sonic glanced at his watch. "Hmm… I wonder if they're done. Should we head back and check?"

Tails and Knuckles nodded. The trio stood up, threw away their empty cups, and headed back to the hospital. It was very quiet as they walked into the building and rode in the elevator.

When they stepped out, a doctor carrying a clipboard came over to greet them. She was very pretty- long brown hair tied up, average skin, and blue eyes. She tapped the clipboard with a pen as she glanced at Sonic. "Sonic the Hedgehog, correct?"

"That's me," Sonic answered.

"I am Dr. Walters, but you can call me Lynn." She glanced down at the clipboard. "You brought in the injured fox, correct?"

"Yeah…" Sonic jerked a thumb towards Tails. "He's her brother."

Lynn smiled. "Well, you can relax. She's fine."

Tails nearly crumpled to the ground upon hearing this. Sonic and Knuckles had to seize him and hold him up. "That's great. Are we allowed to see her?" Sonic asked.

"I was going to ask that you would. There's something you do need to see," the doctor answered.

Sonic frowned. "What is it?"

Lynn turned and began walking towards a separate room. "If you come with me, you can see for yourselves."

The doctor led the trio into a private room a few doors down from the ER. "It's really remarkable. Look at her heart rate monitor."

Sonic blinked as he looked at the monitor. He knew that when a person's heart was normal, it beeped with each beat. However… Robyn's monitor wasn't. It was a straight line.

"Wait a minute… you said that she was fine!" Tails exclaimed.

Lynn smiled. "She is. Look at her."

The trio finally turned their attention to Robyn herself. Despite what the heart monitor was saying, her chest was rising and falling as she slept.

"How is she still breathing?" Knuckles exclaimed.

The doctor turned to Tails. "I was hoping that he could tell us."

Tails smiled sadly. "I wish I could… but I don't know. This is the first time I've seen my sister in seven years."

Lynn's face fell. "Oh… that's too bad. I've never seen anything like this."

"I guess we'll have to wait until she wakes up," Sonic said quietly.

Lynn nodded. "This will be huge. I'll leave it to you three to find out what she's doing."

She set the clipboard down on the counter and left the room. Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles watched her leave, and then looked at each other and shrugged. Then they moved over to Robyn's bed and sat down. Sonic sat on one side with Tails while Knuckles stood on the other side. The hedgehog couldn't help but watch her. She looked peaceful while she slept, especially since there wasn't any blood on her now.

Knuckles looked at Tails. "She's something. It's hard to believe that she's related to you."

Tails didn't scowl. His eyes refused to move from his sister's peaceful face. "Yeah, sure…"

Sonic was barely paying attention. All he could think about was the scene in the town square. Robyn appearing out of nowhere, saving him and Tails, making Eggman flee like a frightened little girl, and then vanishing… and now here she was, unconscious in the hospital.

She stirred slightly. Sonic had to grip the comforter to keep himself from standing up. "Look, guys."

Tails and Knuckles looked at Robyn. She stirred again, and Tails's face lit up. "She's waking up!"

"Guys… I think that you should wait outside," Sonic said quietly.

Tails's happy expression fell. "What? Why?"

"Well, think about it. If she sees Knuckles, she'll probably get uneasy," Sonic said before dodging Knuckles's fist. "If she sees you, Tails…"

He paused and smiled softly. "She'll probably vanish again. I bet that she still thinks that you don't remember her."

Tails slumped. He could see Sonic's point. "I guess…"

"What makes you think that she'll be comfortable with you?" Knuckles demanded, sounding and looking annoyed.

Sonic grinned. "I have a way of making people comfortable around me. It's one of my best qualities."

Knuckles snorted. "Whatever. Come on, Tails."

The kitsune reluctantly followed the echidna out of the room after one last glance at his sister. The door closed behind them with a soft 'click'. Sonic turned his attention back to the still-stirring Robyn. She frowned, and then slowly opened her eyes. Sonic felt a light thump of his heart as his medium green eyes found her dark green ones.

She immediately sat up. "What…? Where am I…?"

"Relax. You're in the hospital," Sonic said gently.

She blinked as Sonic came into clearer view. "You… you're Sonic… Sonic the Hedgehog…"

Sonic smiled. "I am. It's a pleasure to meet you, Miss-"

"Robyn." She shifted slightly. "Robyn Isabella Prower."

"Yes… I know. You're Tails's big sister," Sonic said.

Her eyes widened. "How…?"

"Tails has been talking about you ever since you saved us," Sonic answered tenderly.

She froze for a brief moment. Then she put a dainty hand to her mouth. "So… he does remember me…"

"Of course he does. He never forgot you. He refused to," Sonic affirmed.

Her jade eyes started to well up a little. "Oh…"

Sonic reached over and gently wiped the tears away with his index finger. "Hey… don't cry."

She moved her hand down to her heart. "I never thought… that he would remember me… I mean, he was five years old when I was taken…"

Sonic smiled. "Well, he did. Like I said, he refused to forget you."

**-XxXxX-**

Shadow sighed impatiently. "Either you can come with me, or you can find that hedgehog by yourself."

Amy stared at him. "…I don't trust you."

"It's not a matter of trust. As soon as I find him, I'll be off," Shadow said.

Amy shook her head a little. "What do you want with Sonic, anyway?"

Shadow turned away. "It's strictly between me and him. Now, are you coming or not?"

Amy stared at him for a few brief seconds. Then she sighed and reached her hand out. "Fine."

Shadow cautiously grasped Amy's wrist and pulled out the green Chaos Emerald. "Chaos Control!"

**-XxXxX-**

Sonic smiled. "Do you want me to bring him in?"

Robyn stared at him, and then at the window. "I don't know… I mean… I didn't look like this when we were young… and I'm not up to a million questions right now."

The hedgehog chuckled. "I can make sure that he doesn't bombard you with questions."

The fox fidgeted uneasily. "Well…I…I…"

Sonic could tell that she was pretty hesitant. "I think that it'll be easier if you see him now. Before something else happens."

She shifted herself so she was sitting up against the pillow. "I… you're probably right…"

"Good. I'll be right back," Sonic said as he got up and left.

As soon as the door closed behind him, Robyn smiled sadly. She quickly got up and changed out of the hospital gown into her own clothes, which had been lying on the couch by the window. Then she wrote a note on a blank piece of paper and put it on her pillow. She bit her lip to keep back the tears that were threatening to fall. As much as she didn't want to do this, as much as she didn't want to hurt Tails… she had no choice. This was for his own safety, as well as the others.

"I'm sorry," she whispered towards the door.

She lifted a hand, touched her locket, and vanished.

**-XxXxX-**

Sonic looked around the hallway. "Where in the name of Chaos did they go…?"

He went further down the hallway in search of Tails and Knuckles. He found them in the gift shop, examining a rack of "Get well" cards. The blue hero tapped his foot impatiently for a moment before clearing his throat with a loud "AHEM."

Tails and Knuckles didn't bother to look up. "Hi."

"You could have given me some notice that you were going to come here," Sonic said irritably.

"Sorry, but wasn't that you who kicked us out of the room?" Knuckles retorted.

Tails tapped his chin impatiently, choosing to ignore the fight that was most likely to break out. "I can't find one to get for big sis."

"You can worry about that later. Robyn wants to see you," Sonic said.

Tails's eyes lit up with excitement. "Really? She really wants to see me?"

Sonic laughed. "Yes. She really wants to see you."

Tails began jumping up and down excitedly. "Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go!"

Knuckles chuckled. "Geez, Tails, chill out."

Tails gave him a Look. "I can't. I'm finally going to be reunited with my big sister!"

"Well, you need to chill," Sonic said as he put a hand on the kitsune's shoulder. "Robyn asked me to ask you to be calm and not ask her too many questions. She's not up to it right now."

Tails slumped a little. "Okay…"

"SONIC!"

Sonic turned around to see Amy running towards him. "A-Amy!"

Before he could split, Amy threw herself at him. "Oh, Sonic! I'm so glad that I found you!"

"A-Amy! I can't breathe!" Sonic spluttered.

"Good. Maybe one of these days, her affection will kill you," an all-too familiar voice sneered.

Sonic clenched his fists as Shadow walked up. "Shadow!"

"It's nice to see you too, Faker," Shadow responded sarcastically.

Amy released Sonic (much to his relief) and glared at the ebony hedgehog. "I thought you said that you would leave as soon as you found him."

"I was… but I must ask why you three are here," Shadow directed at Sonic.

"My big sister is here," Tails answered.

Both Shadow and Amy's eyes widened in shock. "Sister?"

Tails nodded, and then retold the story. Sonic and Knuckles jumped in a few times, based on what they knew. Amy listened with great interest. Shadow's attention perked when Tails started describing Robyn.

"Did you say she was a grey fox with green eyes?" he asked.

Tails blinked. "Uh…yeah…"

Shadow's eyes widened again. He turned away and began tapping his chin. "Could it be…?"

Sonic frowned. "What's your deal all of a sudden?"

Shadow shot him an irritated Look. "For your information, I think I may have met his sister."

Tails looked surprised. "Really?"

Shadow nodded. His eyes looked somewhat distant. "Yeah… it was back when I had amnesia. I was exploring the doctor's base, and I found a secret passageway. I was curious, so I went through it and found a secret lab at the end. I found a grey fox in a stasis tube, like the one I had been in. I woke her up, and we kind of hit it off. Then, when you guys destroyed the base, I tried to find her… but she was already gone. I haven't seen her since."

"Why don't you come with us and see if it is the same fox?" Tails suggested.

Shadow stared at the fox. Then at Amy. Then at Knuckles. Then at Sonic. He finally emitted a small sigh. "Hmm… very well, then."

"Let's go!" Tails started down the hallway with the others behind him, not knowing what was in store…

**Yay, longer chapter 8D How will the gang react when they find out about Robyn's disappearance? STAY TUNED 8D**


	5. New Villain

**Disclaimer: I only own Aero and Robyn. Everyone else belongs to SEGA.**

_Chapter Four_

Sonic stopped in front of Robyn's door. "Okay. Give me one second."

He carefully opened the door and led the others inside. "Robyn, he's here-"

He immediately trailed off when he realized that the grey fox wasn't in her bed. "Robyn…?"

No response. The room was dead silent. Tails went over to the bathroom and knocked on the door. Then he peeked inside and checked it. "She's not in here…"

"Sonic…" Amy was staring at the pillow. She walked over to the bed and picked up a piece of paper. She handed it to Sonic, who unfolded it and began reading it. As he read, he frowned.

Then his grassy-green eyes widened in disbelief. "What…?"

Tails began tugging on the hedgehog's arm. "Sonic? Sonic, what is it?"

Sonic swallowed. "She… she left."

Tails blinked. "What… what do you mean?"

Sonic stared at the note. Then he began reading it aloud. As he read it, he could hear Robyn's voice in his head, as if she was the one reading it. _"My dearest brother. I am sure that you are full of questions, and that you want answers. As much as it pains me to say this, I cannot give you any answers. Life is forbidding me from having any contact with you. Darling, I love you so, so much. I promise that I will be close by, whenever you are in trouble."_

Sonic looked up. _"Love, Robyn."_

Everyone looked at Tails. The kitsune had tears in his disbelieving blue eyes yet again. "Tails…"

"…She said that life is forbidding her from seeing me… that makes me think that she's in some kind of trouble," Tails choked out.

"But what could it be?" Knuckles wondered.

Sonic returned his gaze to the note. "I don't know… but we're going to find out."

**-XxXxX-**

Eggman watched the on-going emotional scene from his stealth bot, stroking his mustache. "Hmm... very interesting. Looks like Miss Prower is determined to keep her life hidden from her own brother…"

"Doctor, Aero has returned," Decoe interrupted.

Eggman immediately sat up straight. "Very well. Let him in."

Decoe pushed a button, and the base's entrance opened. "Enter, Aero."

A few minutes passed. Then a chuckle escaped from the depths of the shadows. "I wasn't aware of the memo saying that you had become the boss, Decoe."

Eggman glanced over as a hedgehog emerged from the darkness. He was black all over, except for the green streaks in his quills, and on his arms and legs. His black irises sent chills down everyone's backs that he encountered- especially Robyn herself. She was the one whom he had lusted for since the dawn of time, apparently.

"What news, Aero?" Eggman inquired.

"Robyn has escaped from Apotos," Aero answered grimly.

Eggman's eyebrows shot up. "What do you mean, 'escaped'?"

"I mean that she has vanished. I searched everywhere. She's not in Apotos anymore," the hedgehog answered.

Eggman growled. "Stupid, stubborn girl… well, she has to be somewhere. I want you to keep searching."

Aero bowed. "Very well, Doctor."

He turned away to leave. Before he put a foot out the door however, Eggman spoke again. "If you happen to run into Sonic or Tails… bring them here as well, as well as anyone who comes into contact with Miss Prower."

"I shall," Aero said as he sunk back into the shadows and disappeared.

**-XxXxX-**

"What are we going to do, Sonic?" Tails asked sadly.

"I don't know, little buddy. We'll think of something… I know we will," Sonic replied absently.

"Tails, what is Robyn's personality?" Amy suddenly asked.

Tails blinked. "Um… she is the kind of person who keeps to herself most of the time. You can never tell what she is thinking. But, once you get to know her, she is a load of fun. She's really kind and cares about the people close to her. But if you tick her off… it won't be pretty. Why?"

Amy tapped her chin thoughtfully. "Hmm… I'm trying to think of places that would fit her personality."

Seeing everyone's confused faces, she chuckled. "The place where a person spends most of their time usually says something about them."

"You mean like how Shadow spends most of his time on the ARK because he can't over Maria?" Sonic grinned mischievously.

Shadow growled. "Watch it, Faker."

"Or how Tails spends his time in his lab because he's a techno nut?" Sonic added, completely ignoring Shadow's Extreme Death Glare.

Amy nodded. "Right."

Knuckles looked thoughtful. "Hmm… a lot of privacy… that makes me think of the forest. It's a perfect place to be alone."

Tails's blue eyes lit up. "Yeah! Knuckles, you're a genius!"

"Knuckles, a genius? I never thought that I would hear those two words in the same sentence," Sonic chuckled.

Now it was Knuckles's turn to growl. "Shut up, Sonic."

Tails started jumping up and down excitedly. "What are we waiting for? Let's go!"

Without waiting for anyone, the eager young fox flew outside and jumped into the X Tornado. "Come on, guys!" he called out.

The others (except Shadow) were chuckling as they caught up to their friend. "We can't catch up unless you wait for us," Sonic teased.

"And we're usually telling you that," Amy laughed.

Shadow examined the plane, and then shrugged. "You can take the plane. I'm running."

A grin flowered onto Sonic's peach muzzle. "I'll have to join you on this one. I'll race you there."

The black hedgehog smirked. "Deal."

Before the others could react, the two hedgehogs took off. Amy was the first one to recover and point at the two disappearing blurs. "Let's go, Tails! We have to catch up to Sonic!"

"Right. Hang on tight, gang!" Tails said as he revved up the engine and took off after the racers.

**-XxXxX-**

Robyn collapsed to her knees once she appeared outside the cottage. Teleporting from one place to another did take its toll, despite the fact that she could usually handle it. However, she usually didn't travel around much, so that was probably why she was so drained now.

She stood up, took a few more seconds to catch her breath, and entered the cottage. It was a small place, with one bedroom, a kitchen, and a small "family" room with a fireplace. However, she liked it. It provided her with all of the space that she needed. It was her safe haven from Eggman, Aero, and everything else. She walked through the kitchen and went into the bedroom. It was the size of her old room from when she and Tails were still together, which made her feel even more at home.

She walked over to the closet and dug around for a clean outfit. She finally settled on something that she liked: a purple blouse with a tiny bow on it and elbow-length sleeves, a ruffled black skirt that reached above her knees, and knee-length black boots with a silver strip down the front. She brushed her hair out and put two diamond studs in her left ear. She applied a fresh coat of eye liner and mascara, and before heading back to the kitchen to make a sandwich.

She went outside. The few rays of sunlight made her smile sadly. Her hand went to the silver heart-shaped locket around her neck. Not only did it give her the strength for her powers, but it also protected her from the sun. If she went out without it, she would be killed by the sun's harsh rays. She closed her hand around it, closed her eyes, and sighed. It throbbed slightly under her grasp, trying to soothe her.

Her ears suddenly pricked and her eyes flew open when she heard a whoosh in the distance. She looked around frantically as the whooshing got louder. Knowing that she had little options for hiding places, she dove behind a bush and waited. Fortunately, she didn't have to wait long. Two figures came into view after a moment. She had to put a hand to her mouth to stifle her gasp at who it was.

_Sonic and Shadow… what are they doing here?_ She thought.

The two skidded to a stop beside the cottage. "Tie," Sonic grinned.

Shadow shrugged. "Suit yourself."

A few seconds later, the X Tornado landed in the middle of the clearing. Then Tails jumped out, along with a pink hedgehog and a red echidna. Robyn's green eyes widened as her brother came into her direct line of sight.

"SONIC!" the pink hedgehog screeched as she threw herself at him.

"A-Amy! You're cutting off my air supply!" Sonic gasped.

"The sooner, the better," Shadow said coldly.

Amy let go of her hero before glaring at the ebony hedgehog. "I would never kill Sonic."

"You might not, but your affection will," Shadow snapped.

"Guys! Can we argue about this later?" Tails begged.

Robyn was busy staring at her little brother that she didn't realize that she was gripping the leaves of the bush. A sudden SNAP grabbed her attention. She emitted a small "Oh!" before covering her mouth. She prayed to Chaos that they hadn't heard her.

"Someone's hiding the bushes!" she heard the echidna say.

Robyn winced. _Crap. Crap, crap, crap!_

"Whoever is there, show yourself!" Shadow demanded.

Robyn sighed quietly. She knew that there was no point in hiding anymore- she knew that Shadow would come rip the bushes apart himself if she didn't show herself. With a deep breath, she slowly stood up and stepped out, her head lowered. She ignored the small gasps of surprise as she walked over to Tails. She lifted her head to meet his shocked gaze and smiled sadly.

"Hi, lil bro," she said quietly.

Tails stared up at Robyn. His youthful face portrayed shock. After all of this time… she was here. His best friend. His loving big sister. A few tears spilled down his furry cheeks. "B…Big sis… y…you're here…!"

She smiled again. There were tears falling from her emerald eyes as well. "Oh, darling. My precious baby brother…"

The two threw their arms around each other's necks and began bawling. Sonic and the others stood back, half astonished, yet half joyful for the two siblings. A grin was on everyone's face, even Shadow's!

"I missed you!" Tails cried.

"Oh, Tails…! I missed you, too. So, so, SO much. I can't put it into words…" Robyn sniffled and rubbed her eyes.

She pulled away a little to turn her gaze to Sonic, who had his trademark grin plastered on his face. "Sonic… Thank you so much for taking care of him."

"Heh… it was no big deal," Sonic said as he gave her his trademark thumbs-up. "He's a good kid."

Shadow finally stepped forward, his crimson eyes focused on Robyn's face. "Robyn…"

Robyn turned her attention to him. She smiled slightly. "Shadow… long time no see."

She pulled away from Tails (who was very reluctant to let her go) and faced Shadow. Her jade eyes locked themselves on his crimson ones. She smiled at his expression- a mix of shock and relief. Before she knew what was happening, Shadow was throwing his arms around her and pulling her close.

"I never thought that I would see you again," he muttered.

"Shadow is actually hugging someone? I never thought that I would see the day!" Sonic laughed.

Shadow growled. "One more crack, and you're dead, Faker. Can it."

For the first time, Robyn laughed. It was sweet, and kind of musical at the same time. The others could tell that it had been a while since she had done this. Nonetheless, they smiled at it and chuckled themselves. Then Shadow pulled away from the fox. His eyes were still fixated on hers. There was no doubt about it- they were the same dark jade eyes that had captured his attention all those months ago. "Ah, Robyn…"

"Shadow?" she whispered.

The hedgehog blinked. He suddenly found himself inches away from Robyn's face. A small smile was flowering onto her face. Then he looked up to see a smirk on Sonic's face and the others shaking their heads at him. "What?"

"Somebody was spaced out," Sonic snickered.

"Of course he did. He was looking at Robyn," a cold, unfamiliar voice said from the trees.

Robyn's ears pricked at the sound of the voice. Then her eyes widened, and she froze. "Oh, no…."

"Big sis? What is it?" Tails asked.

Robyn turned to him, tears forming in her eyes. "You need to go. All of you need to."

"What? Why?" Sonic demanded.

Robyn shook her head. "I can't say… just go!"

Shadow crossed his arms stubbornly. "I'm not going anywhere if you're in some kind of trouble."

"Neither am I!" Tails declared.

Sonic grinned. "We want to help, Robyn. It's what we do best."

Robyn looked completely taken aback -and a bit fearful- as Knuckles and Amy also agreed. "But-"

"No buts. We're staying," Shadow said firmly.

"Aww. Isn't that cute," the cold voice taunted.

Robyn swallowed, and then clenched her fists. "We can hear you, Aero. Get out here."

The voice chuckled. "If you insist, my dear."

Robyn drew in a sharp breath as a black and green hedgehog emerged from the shadows of the trees. He eyed the others coldly before turning to her and smiling lustfully. "Hello, darling."

Robyn shuddered. "I told you to stop calling me that."

Aero feigned shock. "I never got the memo."

The grey fox gave him a Look. He grinned at her, and then turned to the others, who looked confused. "Ahh… my apologies. Please, allow me to introduce myself. I am Aero… Aero the Hedgehog. Needless to say, as you can see, I am well acquainted with Miss Prower."

Shadow's eyes suddenly widened. "No… it can't be…"

Aero's black lenses shifted to Shadow's crimson ones. Then he chuckled. "Ahh… long time no see, Shadow."

Sonic looked between the two black hedgehogs. "Um… anybody else confused?"

The others nodded. Shadow stared at Aero for a few more seconds, and then tore his gaze away. He bit his lip as he turned to look at the others. "I… I know him… he's one of my clones."

**What? Aero is Shadow's clone? And he knows Robyn? And what does Eggman have to do with all of this? STAY TUNED!**


	6. Saving Her and More Discoveries

_**Disclaimer: I only own Aero and Robyn. Sonic and co. belong to SEGA. **_

_Chapter Five_

Robyn, Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, and Amy stared at Shadow, their mouths wide open and their eyes spacious with surprise. Aero was… a copy of Shadow?

Robyn was the first one to recover from her state of shock. She put a hand to her mouth. "W…What?"

Shadow nodded as he turned to look intently at Aero. "Then… you survived the disaster on Space Colony ARK all those years ago…"

Aero grinned wickedly at the others. "Unlike your moody friend here, however, I wasn't preserved in a stasis tube for fifty years. I was free to roam this peculiar world."

Shadow growled. "You mean cause chaos with what you are."

Aero waggled a finger at him in disapproval. "Tsk, tsk… I wasn't the one who tried to destroy the world for revenge. The worst I did was feed on a human."

Robyn snorted. "Yeah, right."

Aero gave her an amused look. "My dear girl… remind me of the worse thing you've done?"

Robyn immediately shrank back. A wounded expression crossed her face as she crossed her arms and looked at the ground. "I…"

She trailed off. Tails slowly walked over to her, his blue eyes filled with puzzlement. "Big sis…? W…What is he talking about…?"

Robyn didn't look at him. She was staring at the ground with tears slipping down her face. Suddenly, she buried her face in her hands and began sobbing. "No…!"

"Big sis!" Tails looked alarmed as he touched her arm. "What is it?"

Robyn sniffled as she carefully removed her hands. "Tails… I'm sorry… but… I'm not the same innocent big sister that you remember. I… I've done things that I'm not proud off…"

Her emerald eyes were wide with hurt and guilt as she lifted her head to meet Tails's gaze. "I… I've stolen things… I've killed people… I've done it all…"

Tails stared at her, eyes wide with disbelief. "B…Big sis…"

"I know that you're curious about my appearance now…" Robyn took a quivery breath and sighed. "Honey… I'm immortal now."

Tails completely froze. His sister… immortal? "I…Immortal? Like Shadow?"

Robyn winced. "Well… yes and no."

Tails frowned. "What do you mean?"

"I am immortal… but not like Shadow. I'm… a vampire," Robyn admitted.

Everybody except Aero froze. "V…Vampire?"

Robyn nodded tearfully. "That's why… I did all of those things that I did… My vampire side takes over and I become a completely different person… I become… a demon…"

Tails winced at those words and Robyn's broken tone. "Big sis…"

Robyn found her brother's gaze again. "That's why I keep leaving… you're my whole world, Tails. I would never be able to forgive myself if I… k-killed you…"

Tears started sliding down Tails's face again. "Big sis… I don't want you to leave again…"

"Well, she's going to have to. I have to deliver Miss Prower to the doctor," Aero said impatiently.

Shadow growled and stood protectively in front of the fox. "Over my dead body."

An evil smile crept across Aero's dark face. "Is that a challenge?"

"Are you being stupid?" Shadow shot back.

The others couldn't help but snicker. Aero glowered at them before returning his gaze to Shadow. "You're on."

Before Shadow knew what was happening, Aero had him pinned to the ground with a Chaos Spear pressed against his throat. "What the…?!"

"No!" Robyn whimpered.

Aero smirked. "Yes."

Shadow managed to look at the grey fox. "This… is nothing."

Her eyes widened. Shadow smiled a little before returning a harsh stare back to Aero. A devilish smile curled his lips as he spoke. "You moron. You think that you have me?"

Aero raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"

Shadow smirked. Then he yanked the green Chaos Emerald out of his quills and Chaos Controlled himself free. He laughed as Aero fell to the ground face first. "I told you."

His eyes then flickered to Sonic, who was now beside Robyn. "Faker… I need you to do something."

Sonic blinked. "What…?"

Shadow didn't answer. Instead, he threw the emerald to the confused cobalt hedgehog. "Chaos Control! Get Robyn out of here!"

Sonic caught the glowing emerald. Before he could react, its glow enveloped him and the surprised female fox. In a flash, they were gone.

**-XxXxX-**

"Ooh!" Robyn landed on a soft patch of grass with a muffled thud. Before she could pull herself together, she was driven into the ground again when Sonic landed on top of her. "Oof!"

The blue hedgehog blinked when he heard that surprised, hushed yelp. When his gaze focused, he found himself on top of Robyn, with his hands by her shoulders. "Oh! Sorry about that."

Her face darkened a little. "Oh, it's not your fault. Chaos Control can send us to weird places in weird situations, apparently."

Sonic stared down at her, and then smiled. He didn't realize that he was blushing a slight tad as well. What he noticed was that the fox's jade eyes were sparkling a little as she stared up at him. He hadn't had a chance until now to notice how warm her eyes were, despite the fact that she was a blood-sucking animal. Truthfully, he had never really noticed any girl's eye color, especially those who chased after him. However, Robyn wasn't like that. She had been distant towards him, and he kind of liked it. He found it a challenge to get her to open up to him.

"Sonic?"

Robyn's voice jerked him back to reality. He blinked to see that his face was just inches away from hers. "Oh! Uh… sorry."

She smiled. Then she rolled out from under him, thus causing him to fall face first into the ground. She giggled slightly when she heard a muffled "Ow." Then she knelt beside him and gently pulled him up. The hedgehog couldn't stifle the gasp as her cold fingers lightly grasped his arm.

Her face was apologetic when he looked at her. "Sorry. It's a side effect."

Sonic smiled at her. "No worries."

She smiled back, and then looked around. "Where are we…?"

Sonic finally got to take a look at their new surroundings. He frowned slightly. "I don't know…"

He looked down at the green Chaos Emerald, which he still held in his hand. The bright glow that came before Chaos Control was gone now. The gem was glowing at its regular brightness.

He looked up and found Robyn's glittering gaze. "I guess we'll have to walk and see if we can find anything or anyone that can give us a clue as to where we are."

Robyn nodded. "It looks that way…"

**-XxXxX-**

Aero was smirking as he roughly pushed the four hostages into the control room. "Doctor, I have brought some… 'guests'."

Eggman turned around upon hearing the low, husky voice. His eyes widened, and his lips slowly curled into a wicked smile. "Ah! Excellent, Aero, very excellent!"

He stepped down from the platforms, eyeing his newfound prisoners with delight. "Ahh, it's nice to see you all again…but… what's this? Were there not suppose to be six? Where are the hedgehog and the fox brat?"

It was not Aero who answered this, because Shadow spoke up. "I made sure that Chaos Control sent them away to a safe place."

Eggman arched a brow. "Eh? You… you helped Sonic?"

Shadow growled lightly and clenched his teeth. "…Yes. I'd rather have Robyn safe with him than see her captured and harmed by Aero."

"Ooh, do I detect a little… determination? Do you love her?" the doctor taunted.

"It's no business of yours," Shadow growled as he turned away.

Tails looked stunned. "Wait a minute… you love my big sis?"

Shadow didn't look at him. "…Isn't it obvious, now?"

**-XxXxX-**

Sonic watched curiously as Robyn started a fire with a blast of the purple lightning fire that she had used in Apotos. "What is that, exactly?"

"It's called Starfire. It's one of the most ancient and most dangerous powers of our world. If it fell into the wrong hands… I think you know what would happen," she replied.

Sonic chuckled. "I've heard that a million times…"

Robyn smiled before returning to her work. Her emerald lenses narrowed in concentration and her lips pursed slightly. Sonic sat back and drank in the sight of his fellow companion. There wasn't anything else to do- he had observed their forest surroundings about five million times already.

The fire suddenly sprang to life, crackling and blazing. The hedgehog jumped, startled. "Whoa!"

Robyn laughed. "Focused much?"

He grinned at her. "Good one."

She smiled again before reaching into the pocket of her shorts. Sonic watched inquiringly as she pulled out a small purple diamond. "And that?"

She smiled upon catching his expression. "This is one of the Starfire Diamonds… it's kind of like a Chaos Emerald."

"Ahh," Sonic nodded.

Robyn then turned her gaze to her locket. Sonic noticed that there were seven cuts that looked like they would hold diamonds of that size- which some were. The hedgehog took a closer look and saw the black and silver diamonds from before. "Something tells me those two are special…"

Robyn smiled. "These two always stay in the locket."

"Wow," Sonic breathed.

Robyn chuckled. "That's what I said when I became the guardian…"

"I imagine."

The fox smiled again, but didn't say anything else. Instead, she went back to concentrating on the fire. Sonic returned to admiring her. The way her posture was and the way she was still being a bit cautious around him… he liked it. Normally, he wouldn't have noticed as much- considering the fact that he had girls like Amy chasing after him. Yet again, he had that thought of Robyn's difference creeping into the corners of his mind. It was true, though- her being different. She hadn't squealed when they had met, or had given him the googly eyes, or mentioned dating or marriage. She was an honest, modest girl- and attractive.

_Is this… am I falling for her…?_ Sonic inwardly panicked. _I must be… I've never thought these thoughts before…_

"Sonic?"

Robyn's voice jolted him back to reality. "Y-Yeah?"

"You seem… preoccupied. What's on your mind?" Robyn asked.

"Uh…" Sonic tried very hard not to blush too much. "N-Nothing of utter importance."

Robyn didn't look convinced, but she didn't push the matter further.

**Ooh, Sonic's falling for someone! Will they find out where they are and find the others? Stay tuned!**


	7. New Friend and Another Villain

_**Disclaimer: I only own Shawn, Aero, Kelly, and Robyn.**_

_Chapter Six_

Shadow leaned against the wall of his cell moodily. He hadn't known that the doctor was going to stick him and the others in the cells below the ground floor, let alone realize that he would have to share it with someone. For some unknown reason, he had chosen Tails. Maybe it was because the kitsune was the youngest of the group. Maybe it was because he felt like he had to protect him, for Robyn's sake. He knew that the others would believe the latter, so he quietly decided to go with that.

The mechanical genius hadn't said anything since Decoe and Boccoe had shut them in the small cell. He had been sitting on the bed, swinging his legs back and forth and staring absently into space. His youthful face portrayed no emotion- it was like a blank canvas.

Shadow cleared his throat. "Uh… Tails? Can you come back to reality? Your quiet vibe is making me uneasy."

Tails jumped as though the black hedgehog had shot him. "Uh... sorry."

"No need. I guess I got a little concerned… you're usually running your mouth about machines and whatnot. I've never seen you so still or quiet in all the time that I've known you," Shadow said.

Tails managed an extremely fragile smile that never reached his blue eyes. "…I'm really worried about them, Shadow. Big sis and Sonic, I mean."

Shadow nodded. He had known that they would come up sooner or later. "I know… I'm a little worried, too."

Tails arched an eyebrow. "You're actually worried about Sonic?"

Shadow emitted a dark chuckle. "I guess you could call it that. I want to know if he is protecting Robyn with everything he has. He better come back alive, or… I don't know."

Tails pursed his lips. "It sounds like you want him to come back alive so that you'll still have someone to race and whatnot."

Shadow shrugged. "I look at it this way… Sonic is kind of everything that I was all those years ago before GUN killed Maria… when I look at him, I see bits and pieces of my old self. It drives me nuts."

Tails nodded sadly. "I know the feeling. Now, when I look at Robyn, I see my loving big sister and best friend… yet I also see something else that wasn't there before. It kills me not knowing what that 'something' is."

"It's probably from being trapped with Eggman and Aero all this time, when she knew that you needed her," Shadow said softly.

Tails swallowed, and nodded gradually. The sob that had been working its way up his throat finally freed itself. It echoed off the walls, causing Shadow to wince. Nonetheless, he compelled himself to walk away from his spot and sit next to the young fox. He hesitantly patted the fox gently on the back in an "Everything will be okay" sort of way. Tails, however, said nothing. It took Shadow a moment or two to realize that his acquaintance had gotten himself lost in his own world again.

_Of course,_ Shadow thought with a light chuckle. _Just like his sister…_

**-XxXxX-**

Sonic's snoring lightly echoed throughout the small area, thus keeping Robyn awake. The female fox sighed as she finally sat up. She glanced over at her new blue friend before slipping out and tip-toeing over to a nearby cliffside. Based on the evidence around her, Robyn had deduced that she and Sonic had been transported to some island in the middle of the ocean. She couldn't see any other land nearby, so who knew how far out they were…? That wasn't what was bothering her, though. She was extremely worried about Tails and the others. What had happened since Shadow had chaos controlled them away? Had he managed to get them away... Or were they now in the clutches of Eggman and Aero?

"Robyn?"

She had been so busy wondering about her little brother that she hadn't heard Sonic come up behind her. His voice made her jump as she whirled around. "Oh… hey, Sonic…"

The cobalt hedgehog calmly sat beside the startled fox. "Can't sleep?"

She emitted a quiet sigh. "No…"

"Worried about Tails?" Sonic queried softly.

"Yes…" Her voice cracked as a few tears started sliding down her face.

Sonic gently slid his index finger and his thumb onto her chin and coaxed it towards him so she was looking at him. His gaze was sympathetic. "…Tails will be okay. As much as I hate to say this, he's got Shadow with him. Shadow will make sure that Tails stays safe, for your sake. I know he will. Not to mention that Knuckles and Amy are there…"

All Robyn could do was nod. Sonic was too close for her to say anything.

He smiled as he let go of her chin. "I've been meaning to ask you… do you… do you like Shadow?"

Robyn's jade eyes widened a little. She had not been expecting a question like that. "Um… I… I don't know… why?"

Sonic took a deep breath. "Well… I'm not sure… but… I think I like you…"

Now Robyn's eyes were really wide. "S-Sonic…"

He tilted his head slightly. "You're one of the few girls that have grabbed my attention…"

Robyn didn't have an oral response. Instead, she did something he hadn't expected. She leaned towards his cheek and gently kissed it. His eyes widened as he felt his cheeks suddenly grow hot. "Uhm…"

The fox pulled back and smiled at his expression. "…I do like you, Sonic. But… something inside me is saying that we should wait a bit… so I can figure out where my head is at…"

Sonic nodded. Robyn paused for a second before continuing. "Right now… I just want to get the hell out of here and make sure that Tails is okay."

Sonic tapped her chin up slightly with his index finger. His emerald eyes were partially closed as he stared down at her. His whisper came out softly. "Then we'll talk?"

She swallowed. Damn… he looked so… tempting. She had to resist the urge to throw her arms around his neck and surrender to him. "Then we'll talk…"

Sonic nodded. Before Robyn could say anything else, he leaned forward and stole a kiss from her lips. Her eyes widened in shock. She found her eyes closing and returning the kiss for a few seconds before Sonic pulled back and smiled at her. He put an arm around her while she cuddled close to him. Her eyes began drooping, and she was asleep within minutes. The hedgehog chuckled as he gently picked her up and carried her.

**-XxXxX-**

Shadow was getting impatient. Tails could tell by all of the pacing the black hedgehog was doing. Not to mention that Shadow was frequently growling incoherently under his breath.

"GRAH! I've had enough!" Shadow finally snarled.

He flipped into a spin-dash and rammed full force into the cell door… to no avail. He bounced off and landed on the floor. "Ow."

Tails hopped down from the bed and went over to him. "You okay, Shadow?"

Shadow sat up and rubbed his head. "Yeah. Fine."

Tails shifted his attention to the door. He examined the metal closely and nearly yelped in surprise. "This is the same metal that Eggman's robot was made of!"

Shadow blinked. "What…?"

Tails quickly gave the ebony hedgehog a run-down of what had transpired in Apotos. Shadow nodded several times and looked surprised when Tails told him how Robyn had left him and Sonic after saving them. "Wow…"

Tails nodded. "It was a big shock…"

"So… does that mean that the only thing that can break down these doors is the Starfire?" Shadow asked.

Tails looked grim. "It looks that way…"

"Maybe I can help," a voice said softly.

Tails and Shadow looked around in surprise. "Who's there?" Shadow demanded.

"Look out your door," the voice said.

The fox and the hedgehog turned in that direction. There, standing outside in the hallway, was a young arctic-blue echidna. Her eyes were the same color as her dreadlocks. Her face had a tired appearance to it. There were bruises all over her face, arms, and legs. She was wearing a torn t-shirt, a torn skirt, and muddy sneakers. She had a tiny necklace in the shape of a white flame around her neck.

"Who are you?" Tails asked.

"My name is Kellena Crystalline… please, call me Kelly," she replied.

Tails nodded. "Kelly… that's a nice name. My name is Tails, and that's Shadow."

"I know who you two are… My brother and I know about all of you," Kelly said.

"Your brother?" Shadow asked suspiciously.

Kelly looked at the ground. "He works alongside Eggman. They forced me to work with them until I ran away."

"Kelly! What are you doing here?" a surprised voice exclaimed.

Kelly, Shadow, and Tails turned their gazes in the direction of the cry. It turned out to be Knuckles, who was standing behind the door of his cell, his eyes wide with disbelief. Kelly smiled faintly. "Hi, Knuckles…"

Tails blinked. "Do you know her, Knuckles?"

"Of course. She's my cousin," Knuckles answered.

By now, Amy had taken a spot next to Knuckles. "Cousin?"

"I thought you were the last of your tribe!" Tails exclaimed.

"I thought I was…" Knuckles stared at Kelly. "How'd you-"

"Shawn brought me to Eggman," Kelly interrupted quietly.

Knuckles finally noticed how batter his cousin looked. "K…Kelly…"

Her voice cracked as she spoke. "They abused me. More so Shawn than the doctor."

"WHAT?!" Knuckles snarled.

"They 'hired' me as their personal maid. Quote on quote around hired," Kelly said bitterly.

"You poor thing!" Amy exclaimed.

"I'm fine now… after I ran away, I met up with a fox friend who kind of raised me," Kelly said.

Tails froze. "A… 'fox friend'…?"

Kelly glanced back at him. "Yes… it was your sister, Robyn. I met her after Shadow woke her up. Since Shadow was with the doctor about ninety-five percent of the time, Robyn was alone. That's when I would sneak off and hang out with her."

"Amazing." Shadow was staring at the echidna. "All that time I worked with the doctor… I never knew about you or your brother."

Kelly nodded. "We had our section of the base where we stayed. For some reason, Eggman never wanted us to cross paths with you."

"Kelly, you said you might be able to help us?" Tails queried.

"Yes." Kelly lifted a hand and touched her necklace. The others watched as the necklace glowed. Then Kelly was holding two balls of white-blue flame in her hands.

"The Arctic Fire!" Knuckles exclaimed.

"What?" Amy asked.

"The Arctic Fire! It's as ancient and powerful as the Starfire. Once every millennium, the Arctic Fire chooses someone to wield it. The last time someone controlled it, though, things got out of hand. It was thought to be extinguished," Knuckles explained.

"The Arctic Fire was biding its time, Knuckles. It was waiting for the right person. Someone who would be able to control in better," Kelly said matter-of-factly.

Knuckles blinked. "And… it chose you…?"

Kelly nodded. "Apparently. Now, stand back."

The prisoners scrambled backwards. Kelly aimed a ball at each cell door, and the flung them with a cry. The doors were blasted off of their hinges with a tremendous BANG. Kelly looked calm as the others made their way into the hallway with their mouths and noses covered. "We need to go… no doubt that Eggman or Shawn heard that bang."

**-XxXxX-**

Eggman had.

He frowned as he looked at the main computer screen. It showed an all-too familiar arctic-blue echidna leading the others down a narrow hallway. "…Well, well, well. If it isn't my old friend, the Arctic Fire brat. This is such a nice surprise… heh, heh… I'm sure we'll have a blast at the reunion!"

He pressed a button, and a microphone popped out beside the controls. "Ahem. Shawn."

For a few seconds, there was nothing. Then he heard the familiar cold, bored voice. "Yes, doctor?"

"Come to the control room. I have a little something to show you," Eggman said.

Shawn groaned. "Can't it wait? I'm busy."

Eggman narrowed his eyes at the microphone. "No, it cannot wait. An old 'friend' has come to 'visit' us."

Shawn sighed. "I'm on my way."

Eggman pressed another button, and the microphone went back into its cubby hole. Eggman drummed his fingers impatiently on the controls as he waited. After a moment or two, Shawn finally appeared in the doorway. The grey echidna looked faintly irritated as he walked over to the devious egg.

"What is it?" he asked, not bothering to conceal his frustration.

Eggman gestured to the main screen. Shawn looked up to see Kelly and the others heading down another hallway. "Ahh… it's been a while, little sister. Do you want me to stop them?"

"No. I want you to bring them here. Tell them I have a proposition for them. Oh, and take Aero with you. If you are unable to convince them, I'm sure that he will be able to," Eggman said.

Shawn glanced over at the hedgehog, who was leaning against the wall nonchalantly. "Well?"

Aero smiled cunningly. "Sounds like fun. Let's go."

Shawn sighed. _This should be interesting…_

**Cutesy moment! –squeals like a fangirl- WHAT WILL HAPPEN?! STAY TUNED!**


	8. Robyn's Story

_**Disclaimer: **_

_Chapter Seven_

After a few minutes, Aero noticed that Shawn was being extremely quiet. He arched a brow at the echidna. "Hey. Shawn."

"…."

"Dude, what's bugging you?" Aero asked impatiently.

"….."

Aero thought about it for a moment. Then a grin curled his lips as he snapped his fingers. "Ah! Could it have anything to do with a certain female sibling of yours?"

"Butt out, Aero," Shawn muttered irritably.

"So it does have to do with Kelly. Hmm…" Aero grinned devilishly and began speaking in a gushy, dramatic tone. "Young, sweet, delicious Kelly-"

"Stop reducing her to a sex object. The only person that you can reduce to a sex object is that fox you're so obsessed with," Shawn snapped.

Aero grinned again. "If you insist. Sweet, lithe Robyn, the love of my life, my future queen…"

"Ugh…" Shawn facepalmed as Aero droned on and on.

**-XxXxX-**

Sonic sat beside Robyn and watched her sleep. She looked like she needed a good twelve hours or so of sleep. Her jade eyes looked extremely sleepy when they were open. However, with their current predicament, he wasn't sure if either of them would be able to get any sleep. He smiled softly, however, when the grey fox turned onto her side again. The smile faded when he realized that she had been doing a lot of tossing and turning in the past hour. He couldn't help but wonder if that was a common thing for her, or if she was doing it because they still didn't know where they were. If he had to guess, it would be the latter.

Suddenly, Robyn jolted upwards from her sleep like she had been shot, gasping for breath. Her jade eyes were wide with fear as she put a dainty hand to her heart. Once she remembered where she was, she began to gradually relax. "Ohhh…"

"Robyn?" Sonic looked alarmed and concerned.

She drew in several deep breaths before speaking. "That was really freaky…"

"Weird dream?" Sonic queried.

She nodded. "Tails had grown nine extra tails…"

Sonic blinked. "That is freaky."

The fox nodded again. The cobalt hedgehog scooted closer and gently put his arm around her. "Well, it's just a dream. Don't worry."

"Thanks…"

Sonic smiled and began playing with her hair. Robyn chuckled softly as he began braiding it. "I didn't know you could braid."

"Eh. It's not that hard," he murmured as he continued to work.

It went on like this for a few minutes. Robyn could hear Sonic saying things under his breath as his fingers combed their way through her hair. She smiled, closed her eyes, and waited.

Finally, he leaned back. "I'm done."

The fox turned to face him. Her hands gently reached behind and patted the braid, which nearly reached her waist. "Wow… nice job."

Sonic grinned. "You've got enough hair to do a braid like that."

Robyn smiled. Then she pulled back a little and reached into the pocket of her jeans. Sonic watched curiously as she pulled something out. She unfolded it and showed it to him. He realized that it was a worn-out photo.

"This was taken when Tails was born… when our family was still together," Robyn said softly.

Sonic blinked. "Your family…?"

Robyn nodded. "Yes… the two of us, our parents, and our other siblings."

"Other siblings?" Sonic repeated.

Robyn's jade eyes glittered with amusement. "Yeah… we have three sisters."

"Damn… that's a lot of kids. Heh…" Sonic couldn't help but grin. "Your parents must have been busy."

Robyn elbowed him. "Hush."

"Ow…" The azure hedgehog put his hands up in mock surrender. "I'm just saying…"

Robyn shook her head. "Whatever… the red fox is Zoey, the blue fox is Alustriel, and the purple fox is Sapphira. And then our parents-" she pointed to the two foxes holding the baby Tails- "are there. And that's me next to them."

"Heh… you were adorable," Sonic commented.

"Nahh… I was a chubby fox," Robyn chuckled softly.

She stared at the picture for a minute. Her jade eyes welled up a little with crystal tears. "…They were lost not too long after this was taken. We were caught in a really bad storm…"

She trailed off. Sonic managed a small, sympathetic smile as he put his arm around her again. "I'm sorry…"

The fox lightly drummed her fingers on his hand before returning her attention to the picture. "I… I think that they're still out there, Sonic. Once we find Tails and the others, I'm going to find them."

"We can help you," Sonic said with a nod.

Robyn shook her head. "As much as I would enjoy your company, I'm capable of doing it myself. I know you saw my note at the hospital."

Sonic blinked. "What about it?"

"Sonic… I can't stay with you and the others. It's too dangerous for any of you to be around me. Especially-" she looked like she didn't want to say it- "especially Tails…"

The blue hedgehog stared at her. "Robyn, I-"

She silenced him by holding up a hand. She opened her mouth and pointed at her glistening fangs before continuing. "…I'm not like you guys anymore. I'm a… a demon. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I bit any of you… I can drop in from time to time, but I-"

"Robyn, listen to me." The sudden disappearance of any and all emotion from Sonic's tone made the grey fox stop mid-rant. "We've been through some bad times. Eggman, Chaos, Shadow, the Metarex, Black Doom, Dark Gaia, and too many other things to mention. If you were to attack one of us, we'd stop you. We'd be able to try and calm you down. Or you could probably stop yourself… you're a strong girl."

He put both of his hands on her trembling shoulders. "I know that you can do it. There'll be more pressing matters that will be on your mind. I know it."

She stared up at him, up into his twinkling emerald eyes. He seemed so… _confident_, so… _sure,_ that he and the others would be able to handle her when that evil, demonic side took control of her. Could he really be that positive? Would he really be able to defend himself if she tried to attack him? Should she really trust him, one hundred percent?

"O…Okay… if you're absolutely certain," she finally said.

Sonic nodded. "We're friends, Robyn. I'd do anything for you. I'm sure the others would, too."

He leaned forward and hugged her. She accepted and returned it, burying her face against his shoulder. Then he pulled back, placing his hands on her shoulders again, and smiled. "Let's try and get some more sleep. It's still dark out."

The fox stared up at him for a few seconds before speaking. "…Sonic?"

"Hmm?"

"…Thank you," she murmured.

Sonic blinked. "For…?"

"For taking care of Tails. Had it not been for you… I don't what would have happened to him. And… and saving me earlier," Robyn said quietly.

"Oh… well, you're welcome."

The fox nodded before lying down. She curled up and sighed softly. Sonic scooted closer to her before lying down. He turned onto his side, propped his head onto his hand, and grinned at her. She copied him and stuck her tongue out at him.

"Heh…" Then the hedgehog snapped his fingers. "That reminds me… how DID you end up unconscious on that cliff?"

Robyn blinked thoughtfully. "Hmm… all I remember is sitting there, thinking about Tails, and then I heard a BANG behind me… then everything went black… and then I woke up in the hospital with you sitting by me…"

Sonic frowned. "Huh… that sounds like someone tried to shoot you… but-"

"You're going to say that I'm a vampire, so it shouldn't have affected me," Robyn interrupted.

Sonic sweatdropped. "Uh… yeah."

She smiled. "I may be a vampire, but I'm not indestructible. There are some things that can either cause damage to me… or actually kill me."

Sonic raised an eyebrow. "Like what?"

"Bullets can do damage… extreme heat and radioactive poison can kill me. There might be some other stuff… I don't know," she blushed.

"If you had said silver bullets, I would have called you a werewolf," Sonic joked.

Robyn playfully smacked his arm, and then grew serious again. "Oh, there is one other thing… if I've encountered a recent loss, then it can leave me pretty weak. Especially if it was someone that I was close to."

Sonic studied her closely. "Like… when you were separated from Tails…?"

The fox nodded slowly. "Yeah… when we were separated from each other, I was crushed. I felt like I had let him down, and I feared that I had lost him forever. I was considering throwing my life away when you began attacking Eggman and I saw that Tails was with you. That reignited me, and it fueled my desire to break free from Eggman and reunite with Tails. But then… Aero came…"

Her face paled at mentioning the creepy hedgehog. "When Eggman learned about Shadow, he also found out about all of the copies that Professor Gerald had tried to create. Out of all of them, Aero was the only one that survived… and that was because there was something different about him."

Sonic's ear twitched. "Which was…?"

"When Professor Gerald was trying to create the ultimate life form, he was also studying the myths about vampires. Somehow, he fashioned his own 'vampire venom' after Shadow was created, and when he brought Aero to life, he injected it into him," Robyn said.

Something suddenly clicked in Sonic's head. Aero was a vampire… and so was Robyn. "He's the one that bit you, isn't he? Aero, I mean."

She nodded slowly. "After you and Shadow saved the planet… and everyone except for Eggman thought that Shadow was dead… Eggman placed Shadow in that stasis tube and woke Aero up, but decided to keep him quiet so he could be properly trained. I had the _glorious_ task of helping Aero out. For some reason, he became rather attracted to me-"

"Hmm, wonder why?" Sonic teased.

The fox gave him a slightly stern, yet playful Look before continuing. "I don't know why, but he fell hard for me… and when I told him that I didn't feel the same way, he got angry. Then Eggman got him hooked on the idea that if he bit me and changed me into a vampire, I would become his eternally. So… he tried it."

"What happened? I'm assuming that something interrupted him or else you'd be trying to kill me," Sonic said with a grin.

"No fair, you're ruining my story!" the fox giggled. "But yes, something did interrupt him."

"And that was…?" Sonic prompted.

Robyn looked thoughtful. "My friend, Kelly. I believe that she is a cousin of your friend, Knuckles."

Sonic's eyes widened. "Whoa! Seriously?"

She nodded. "She came in and got so worked up that she began attacking Aero. She has the Arctic Fire, which is kind of similar to the Starfire. Anyway, those two began fighting. Kelly nearly got pounded, and if Eggman hadn't come in, Aero probably would have bitten her as well."

"What about you?" Sonic queried.

"Because Aero was distracted halfway through and was torn away from me, there wasn't enough venom to change me like _that_-" Robyn snapped her fingers- "Plus… I was fighting against it."

Sonic blinked. "Huh?"

"When Aero bit me… it hurt like hell. But I wasn't willing to give up. I knew that if I gave in, something terrible would happen to me. So I fought back mentally, hoping to gain control of what was flooding through my body so that I wouldn't turn out like him. I won… to an extent," Robyn admitted.

Sonic frowned. "An extent?"

"Remember? My demonic side?" Robyn said softly.

"Oh." Sonic sweatdropped. "Right."

"It wasn't easy, either… after a while, I passed out. Had it not been for Kelly, I probably would have never woken up at all. But I could feel her urging me to keep fighting, to remember my desire to see Tails again. Boy, did it work," Robyn smiled.

"What happened to Kelly?" the hedgehog queried, somehow getting the feeling that something had happened to the echidna.

"I… I don't know… After you guys destroyed Eggman's base, we used the chance to escape… but we got separated. I don't know if Eggman found her or if she managed to escape to someplace else," the fox admitted.

Her eyes looked pained. "I hope she is okay, wherever she is…"

Sonic nodded. He leaned over and gently hugged her again. "Let's get some sleep. We have things to do."

**So this chapter mainly focused on Sonic and Robyn, with Robyn admitting some of her past to our hero. But what's going on with Kelly and the others? Will Sonic and Robyn be able to find them? STAY TUNED!**


	9. Bad Family Reunion and Shocking Sight

**Disclaimer: I only own Kelly, Shawn, Aero, and Robyn.**

_Chapter Eight_

Kelly suddenly paused. Tails, Shadow, Knuckles, and Amy stopped behind her, blinking their confusion. Tails came up beside her and tried to catch her gaze. "Kelly? Is something wrong?"

"I thought… that I heard something," Kelly admitted softly as she glanced around the hallway.

After a few seconds, she shrugged it off. "I must have imagined it… being in this place gives me the creeps."

"Tsk, tsk, Kelly. I thought that you would have learned by now to NOT look in the most obvious place," a cold voice rang out.

The small group whirled around after recognizing Aero's voice. Sure enough, the vampire hedgehog appeared after a second… along with a tired-looking grey echidna.

"S-Shawn!" Kelly yelped.

"Shawn!" Knuckles growled.

"That's Shawn?" Tails, Shadow, and Amy asked.

The echidna did not speak. He stood by Aero, his dull orange eyes studying his sister carefully. She looked more worn out than he did. She looked like she needed a bath, clean clothes, food, and sleep. For a moment, it all came back to him. His parents presenting Kelly to him when she was just a few hours old, watching her grow up, and then… all of the horrible things that he had done to her once their parents had died. Abusing her, harassing her, auctioning her off as a sex puppet, her screams and pleas for him to stop… for a moment, he could only see Kelly's tears. Then he blinked when he felt a blow to his already-bruised face that knocked him off of his feet. He looked up and found Knuckles towering over him. His red-furred cousin was mad.

Knuckles grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and held a spiked fist close to Shawn's nose. "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't give you the beating that you deserve."

Shawn couldn't help but smile dryly. "Is that any way to start off a reunion, my dear cousin?"

With an enraged roar, Knuckles punched him again. Shawn slammed against the wall and fell to his knees without a single sound. Knuckles started for him again, but then Kelly began pulling on his arm. Her blue eyes were sparkling with fear as he turned to her. "Don't, Knuckles!"

"He can't be forgiven, Kelly… not for what he did to you!" he growled.

"We can't fight them! They'll beat us, hands-down!" she whimpered.

Tails blinked. "But they're outnumbered…"

Kelly turned to him. "Believe me, Tails… I've seen them take out more people. They don't fool around…"

Her voice lowered. "Robyn had to learn that the hard way…"

Tails looked confused- and alarmed- upon hearing the mention of his older sister. "What do you mean?"

"It should be obvious, my little furry friend," Aero cut it. "It was I who changed your delicious sister into what she is."

Tails's mouth fell open. "W…WHAT?!"

"I suspected it," Shadow growled. "Aero would stoop low enough to try something like that."

"Yes." Aero glowered at the hedgehog, and then shifted his dark gaze to Kelly. "It was also because of this brat that the process wasn't fully completed. If she hadn't interrupted, Robyn would be mine."

"You… you… sick creep!" Amy exclaimed in anger.

Aero ignored her and the others, who voiced their agreement. His eyes were locked on Kelly. "I've been meaning to make you pay for that, Kelly…"

He slowly moved towards her. To everyone's surprise, she didn't back away. Her blue eyes burned as Aero came closer and closer. She was tired of running away like a scared kitten. She knew that this moment would have come eventually. It was time to face up and settle her scores.

She wasn't going to back down.

Not now.

Not ever.

**-XxXxX-**

"Robyn. Wake up."

The fox stirred slightly. Sonic shook her a little harder. "Robyn… come on, we have to move."

She delved deeper into the sleeping bag. "Just five more minutes, Mom…"

Sonic chuckled at how deep in sleep she was. "I didn't want to do this… but you leave me no choice."

He reached for a bottle of water on the other side of the sleeping fox. He quickly uncapped it, took a deep breath, and dumped it on her. She immediately jolted upwards, screaming in disbelief. When her eyes cleared and she saw Sonic holding the water bottle, her eyes nearly bugged out of her skull. "You… you dumped water on me?"

Sonic grinned. "How else was I suppose to wake you up?"

"Oooooohhhh, I otta…!" Robyn growled as she tackled the laughing hedgehog.

The two began wrestling. Sonic kept laughing while Robyn kept growling. After a few minutes, Sonic pinned the fox and stuck his tongue out at her. "I gotcha."

"I'm going to remember that, hedgehog," Robyn growled playfully as he got off of her.

"Ooh, I'm scared," he teased.

The fox stuck her tongue out at him; he copied her. She growled something incoherent under her breath, but smiled at her friend nonetheless. He gave her his trademark grin and thumbs-up in return.

She finally stood up and stretched. "So, what's the plan?"

"We figure out where we are and how to get back to the others," Sonic replied.

"…And how do you propose to do that?" Robyn asked.

"…..I have no clue," Sonic admitted with a sweatdrop.

"I'd be glad to help you out, Big Blue," an alluring voice rang out from above.

The two friends jumped. Robyn looked around in confusion while Sonic went into a slightly defensive pose. "Who's there?"

"Look up," the voice sighed.

They looked up. Sitting on a branch was a white bat with aquamarine eyes wearing a heart-shaped top, dark leggings, and white boots. Her grin was seductive- a little too seductive. "Long time no see."

"Oh," Sonic sighed as he relaxed. "Hi, Rouge."

The bat jumped down, still grinning. "My… you look like you've been working out."

Robyn clenched her fists. A low growl nearly escaped her throat; it sounded like someone choking. Rouge looked over and arched an eyebrow. "Who's the chick, Big Blue?"

"That's Robyn," Sonic answered. "She's Tails's sister."

"Sister?" Rouge blinked. "Interesting. I always thought it a little odd for a cutie pie like him to not have any relatives. Then again, who am I to talk…?"

"He has me," Robyn said irritably. "And our other siblings."

"Really, now?" Rouge leaned forward a bit. "Then where have you been all this time?"

"It's no business of yours," Robyn spat.

"It's a long story," Sonic quickly intervened, seeing Robyn's flaring temper and Rouge's amused expression. "Anyway, Rouge… are you really willing to help us…?"

"I am… under the right conditions," Rouge smiled.

"Which would be…?" Sonic questioned.

Rouge held out her hand. "Tell me what's going on… and the Chaos Emerald."

Sonic sighed. "…Fine…"

He pulled it out of his quills and tossed it to her. The bat's eyes glittered as she caught it. "Very nice… now, the story. What are you doing here?"

So he told her. He started back in Apotos when Robyn first appeared and saved him and Tails. He continued on where Tails had revealed the truth about his family and how they went on a search for her. Then Knuckles had shown up to say that there was someone in trouble, and they found Robyn unconscious on a cliff; Rouge raised an eyebrow at this. They brought her to the hospital, where they ran into Shadow and Amy. When they went back to Robyn's room, she had vanished, leaving only a note.

He was about to continue on when Rouge stopped him. "Can you speed it up? I'm getting bored."

"Okay, okay… so we found Robyn, and then we had a… _nice_ encounter with one of Shadow's copies, Aero, who is Robyn's stalker," Sonic said.

Rouge frowned. "Shadow's… copy? But I thought that all of the androids died!"

"Not Aero. Apparently Professor Gerald was researching vampires, and he fashioned his own 'vampire venom' for Aero," Sonic said.

Rouge shivered. "Creepy."

"Anyway, Shadow and Aero began fighting, next thing I know, Shadow's throwing the Chaos Emerald at me and using Chaos Control to send me and Robyn away," Sonic finished.

"Interesting…" Rouge definitely meant it, judging by the expression on her face. "All right, then. I'll help you."

"You will?" Sonic looked surprised.

"Sure. Haven't seen ol' Shadsy in a while. Anyway, I'm surprised that you haven't figured out where you two are," Rouge said.

Sonic blinked. "What do you mean?"

"Look around. Doesn't this clearing look familiar to you?" Rouge queried.

The hedgehog looked around. Sure enough, it did look familiar. He had been here before… but he couldn't quite put his finger on the location. Suddenly, he remembered something. He had fought Shadow here… then Eggman had radioed his counterpart to say that the island was going to blow.

He remembered that day very clearly.

"_Prison Island,"_ he breathed.

**-XxXxX-**

Knuckles stepped in front of Kelly protectively. "Stay away from her. She's been through enough already."

Aero smiled cunningly. "Then she won't have anything to worry about."

He stepped on Knuckles's foot with a steel-toed shoe- which caused the echidna to yelp in agony- and then shoved him out of the way. If the current situation had been different, the others would have laughed. However, they were too focused on the young echidna who was still standing her ground.

Aero stopped right in front of her. He knelt down a little so he was closer to her. "Well, Kelly? What do you have to say?"

She spat in his face as her response.

A gasp echoed through the group behind her. Aero didn't even flinch. He calmly stood up, slowly wiped his face off, and chuckled. "Very well, then…"

Shawn stared at his sister. He was already amazed that she was standing her ground, but now he was astounded that she had the guts to spit in the face of the hedgehog who had given her a severe beating all that time ago. She had definitely come a long way since he had last seen her.

Aero smiled as he stepped back. Kelly blinked, but continued to stay in her slightly defensive stance. "Hm…"

"Relax, my dear," the hedgehog chuckled. "We're not here to fight."

Kelly didn't budge. "Oh, really?"

Aero grinned at her disbelief. "Really. We are here by the doctor's request to bring all of you to him. He has a… proposition for all of you."

Shadow narrowed his eyes. "What kind of proposition?"

"I imagine it has something to do with your freedom," Aero replied airily.

Kelly turned to the others. "I don't think we have a choice… if we fight, they'll have all of us out before you can say 'She sells sea shells by the seashore'."

"Smart girl." Aero patted her head and chuckled. "You have learned from me."

Kelly cringed. Whether it was from the vampire patting her head or from "learning from Aero", the others didn't know. It could be both, so they left it at that.

"Fine," Shadow growled. "But no funny business."

Aero feigned shock. "My dear brother… I wouldn't dream of it."

**-XxXxX-**

Sonic continued to follow Rouge down the path with Robyn trailing behind him. The grey fox looked pretty annoyed, though Sonic didn't know why. She had been like this for a while, so he decided to ask her.

He fell into step beside her. "Hey… what's wrong…?"

"Nothing," she answered irritably.

Sonic sighed. "Robyn…"

"What? I don't trust her… who is she, anyway?" Robyn gestured to Rouge.

"Rouge… Rouge the Bat. She's a government spy and self-proclaimed master jewel thief. She and Knuckles have, ah… a very complicated history. She usually works with Shadow… she can be a pain, but she can be helpful when it comes down to things," Sonic said.

"Hmph," was all Robyn said.

Sonic blinked. "Why are you so bothered?"

"I just am. Something about her bugs me," Robyn said irritably.

She suddenly stopped following him. Her eyes widened a little as she took a deep breath. Sonic also stopped and stared at her with confused, concerned emerald eyes. "Robyn…?"

"I…I haven't hunted yet… get back," she whispered.

Sonic continued to look confused for a few seconds. Then his eyes widened as her fur began darkening. "Ohh… shit."

He turned around and ran up to Rouge. He grabbed her wrist and jumped onto a high branch. "Don't move."

"What-"

He clamped a hand over her mouth. "Don't do –or say- anything."

He managed to get a view of Robyn on the ground below. Her fur had darkened to a midnight-black. Her jade eyes had changed to blood-red. She scanned the area, sniffing out any nearby scents. Sonic cringed as her gaze found his. For one heart-stopping moment, he feared that she would attack him and Rouge. To his great relief, Robyn shook her head slightly and turned her attention to a rustling bush.

"Well, well…" Sonic winced at Robyn's voice. It was harsh, unlike her gentle tones from before.

Without warning, the fox leapt forward and dove into the bush. There was a loud yelp, and then Robyn rolled out wrestling a baby deer. Sonic's eyes widened as she pinned the terrified animal down and _bit into its neck!_ "Oh… Chaos…"

The deer's eyes widened. It struggled for freedom, but it was too weak to fight Robyn off. As the fox drank the last of the animal's blood, the baby shuddered and went still. Robyn removed her mouth from the carcass and licked her lips. Slowly, her fur and eyes returned to normal. She started breathing heavily as she stared down at the dead deer.

Sonic jumped down and slowly moved towards her. "Robyn…?"

The fox wiped her mouth with a trembling hand. "Chaos… that sucks…"

Rouge jumped down from the branch, her expression portraying her evident disgust. "Ew…"

Robyn looked up. Her cheeks were already turning dark red with embarrassment. "I… I can't help it…"

She looked ready to cry. Sonic tried to put a somewhat comforting arm around her. "It's okay…"

The fox pulled away from him, wiping her eyes. "No… it's not… this is a child of a mother…"

Rouge walked over, taking great care to avoid the carcass. "Does this always happen?"

Robyn stared at the ground. "It'll happen at the most random time… _I hate it!"_

"Isn't there a way to stop it?" Sonic demanded.

The fox didn't answer for a moment. Sonic and Rouge looked at each other with some worry before turning back to her. Finally, she emitted a quivery sigh and looked up.

"The only way to stop it… would be to kill me… unless you guys found another way to stop me," she said quietly.

**First off, Tails and the others meet Shawn at last! Then Rouge shows up to help Sonic and Robyn! Then Kelly spits in Aero's face! Then we finally see the demonic vampire side of Robyn! Not only that, but the only known way to stop her would be to kill her! *GASP* WHAT WILL HAPPEN NEXT?! STAY TUNED!**


	10. A Familiar Face

**OH MY GOD. I'm alive o_o I apologize profusely for my absence on this story!  
Sonic: Pfft, yeah right.  
Hush, you. You know as well as the others that I've had severe Writer's Block for this story.  
Robyn: Be nice to her, Sonic!  
Sonic: Okay, okay, sorry… I'm just anxious for this to continue.  
Shadow: Pfft…  
Hey, don't you start as well, Shadow. Anyway, like I said, I've had MAJOR Writer's Block for this story. In fact, I haven't worked on it until about two weeks ago. And it just so happens that I'm in my junior year of high school and I'm taking a lot of advanced classes. So, HOMEWORK. I will try to update when I can, I promise! Okay, Robyn?  
Robyn: Nomad doesn't own any of the Sonic characters. Just me, Shawn, Aero, Kelly, and the new character introduced at the end of the chapter!  
Thank you! Now… without further ado, here is chapter nine!**

_Chapter Nine_

"Here they are, Doctor," Aero announced as he stepped into the control room with Shawn and the others behind him.

"Thank you, Aero. Hello again, everyone. I trust that your 'rooms' are to your liking?" Eggman inquired innocently.

Everyone except Aero and Shawn looked annoyed. "No."

Eggman pretended to look hurt. "No? That's a pity…"

Amy crossed her arms, as did Shadow and Knuckles. Tails and Kelly emitted a soft "Hmph" of irritation. Aero chuckled as he walked over to the devious egg. Shawn did nothing as he sat in a chair and watched with passive orange eyes.

"Why are we here?" Knuckles demanded.

Eggman cackled. "Ah… I have a proposition for you."

"What kind of proposition?" Tails asked suspiciously.

"My dear boy, a proposition for your freedom!" Eggman boomed.

He turned to Shadow. "All Shadow has to do is tell me where he sent the hedgehog and the fox brat!"

Amy's mouth fell open. "…WHAT?"

"ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!" Kelly barked.

Eggman laughed and looked at her knowingly. "Me, kidding? Noooooooo…"

"Not the Doctor," Aero agreed.

They looked at each other and began laughing like it was some new joke. An anime sweatdrop appeared on everyone else's heads- even Shawn's.

"This can't possibly get any weirder, can it?" Amy whispered to Kelly.

"I don't know… things get very weird around here," the echidna murmured.

They stood there with crossed arms while Eggman and Aero continued to laugh. Shadow started to get visibly impatient. Tails and Knuckles looked at each other and shrugged. After a few minutes, the doctor and the vampire calmed down and sat in their chairs. Eggman wiped a tear from his eye. "Ohh, I crack me up."

"Oh, brother," Kelly muttered.

The others anime sweatdropped again. Eggman glared at the young echidna before returning his gaze to Shadow. Aero smirked at his "brother", who was purposely avoiding eye contact.

"Well, Shadow?" Eggman asked impatiently.

Cold crimson eyes found those beady ones shielded behind glasses. "I cannot tell you where Chaos Control sent them."

Eggman looked stunned for a second. Then a harsh, irritated frown settled upon his face. "And just why not?"

The ebony hedgehog didn't answer at first. He crossed his arms briefly, and then uncrossed them. Tails, Amy, Knuckles, and Kelly stared at him quizzically, trying to figure out if he had some sort of plan in mind. Shawn leaned back in his chair, looking only half-interested. Aero narrowed his black eyes. A small, threatening hiss escaped his throat as he stared at Shadow. Eggman motioned for the vampire to back off as he came closer to the silent hedgehog.

"Why not?" he repeated warningly.

Shadow shrugged. "Hate to disappoint, doctor… but I don't know where Chaos Control sent Robyn and Sonic."

"… WHAAAAAAAATTT?" the doctor screamed in frustration before doing a classic anime fall.

Aero sighed and rolled his eyes before glancing off to the side. "It figures, Doctor. Shadow may be the most capable one of handling the emeralds, but even he wouldn't know all of their secrets."

Shadow's face indicated that he was insulted. Despite the situation, a small giggle escaped Kelly's lips. The ebony hedgehog turned a cold glare towards her, and she immediately fell silent. Knuckles growled quietly as he pulled his cousin close and glared at Shadow.

"She laughed at me!" Shadow snapped.

"It was hardly a laugh! And besides, your expression deserved it," Knuckles retorted.

Before the two could start fighting, Amy summoned her hammer and stood in between them. "Oy! Knock it off or I'll pound your heads into the wall!"

The two stepped back a bit and glared at each other once more before resuming their previous positions. Eggman emitted a soft "hmph". "As amusing as that was, I will have to ask Aero and Shawn to escort you back to your cells now."

Aero smiled wickedly and held up a hand. "We can do this the easy way or the hard way. Your pick."

"Don't be ridiculous, Aero," Shawn snapped as he stepped forward.

He waved a hand towards the group. "… Chaos Catalpetic."

The others looked confused for a minute. Then Kelly emitted a big yawn and dropped to the floor, fast asleep. One by one, the rest of the prisoners fell to the ground as well. A bloodthirsty grin curled Aero's lips as Shawn lowered his hand. Eggman was also grinning.

"You never cease to surprise me, my dear echidna," he chuckled.

"You know that I only aim to surprise, Doctor," Shawn quipped as he picked up Kelly and Knuckles and walked out of the room.

**-XxXxX-**

Sonic, Rouge, and Robyn continued to make their way through the mesh of trees and bushes. None of them had spoken since Robyn's confession about the only way to stop her vampire side. Sonic was trying to wrap his head around the whole idea. The idea of her vampire side being able to control her in order to nourish itself was pretty self-explanatory… but the fact that they had to kill Robyn in order to kill the vampire was something that the hedgehog did not like to think about. Every time he looked at her, however, he couldn't help but think about it. After a while, he decided to break the silence and hopefully distract them from that topic.

"So… why are YOU out here, Rouge?" he asked.

The bat glanced over her shoulder at him briefly as she continued to walk. "GUN has been keeping tabs on the whole island since Shadow blew their base up way back when. Lately, we've been getting reports of strange activity near the ruins of the base. I was asked along with some other agents to check it out."

"And how does this coincide with helping us, exactly?" Robyn asked.

"Well, if you two can help us with whatever is going on out here, I can have you taken to GUN headquarters and we can help you rescue Tails and the others," the bat replied.

Sonic looked at Robyn and shrugged. "We might as well. We're not going to get anywhere without some help."

The grey fox sighed. "I guess so…"

"Here we are," Rouge said as if they hadn't been speaking.

The two looked in her direction. Sure enough, they were standing in a clearing close to the ruined base of GUN. Sonic emitted a soft sigh as his eyes scanned the area. It had seen a lot in the moments before the explosion of the base. Before he could start reflecting on those moments, however, Rouge snapped her fingers in front of his face and motioned for him to follow. They went over two agents, who were chatting until they realized that they had guests. One of them, a human with light brown hair and blue eyes dressed in a GUN uniform, stopped mid-sentence to greet Rouge. "There you are, Rouge. I was beginning to think that you had gotten lost."

Rouge grinned as she shook the human's hand. "You never have faith in me, do you, Topaz?"

Topaz chuckled before nodding at Sonic. "Nice to see you again, Sonic."

"The pleasure is mine," he replied with a thumbs-up.

Topaz's gaze then fell on Robyn, who was standing close to Sonic. "Oh, and you brought a friend."

The fox waved shyly. "Robyn… Robyn Prower."

"Nice to meet you." Topaz turned back to Rouge. "So you just happened to find these two on your way in?"

"Yes. I told them about what's going on, and they are willing to lend us a hand," Rouge replied.

"Thank goodness. We've dropped in numbers since the Commander told us that you were coming. Agent Senski got cold feet at the last minute and didn't get on the helicopter. Harlow got into an accident. Wallace broke his leg. Oh, and Stevenson got called to his family for some emergency," the older agent counted off.

Rouge blinked. "But… that only leaves you, me, Kingsley, and-"

"Ace. Yes," Topaz said grimly.

"Speaking of Ace, where is she? I'm surprised she wasn't the first to greet me," the bat said as she looked around.

"She said she was going to scout around. She should be back any minute," Topaz said as she glanced at her watch.

Sonic cleared his throat. "Not to intrude or anything, but… who's Ace?"

"She's one of our highest ranking agents, alongside Rouge and myself. She's got a brilliant mind, kind of like your two-tailed friend… she usually has a plan for everything. She's very devoted to her work, which is how she advanced to the top so quickly after a few months or so. Very quick, very powerful in combat. She is also Rouge's closest friend," Topaz said.

Rouge opened her mouth to say something, but a new voice interrupted her. "And so people call me 'Ace' because of my quick mind and my combat abilities."

The voice seemed to come from the trees. Sonic and Robyn looked around in confusion while Topaz and Rouge shook their heads. Then the bat stepped towards one of the trees and chuckled softly. "You're lucky that not a lot of people know what to look for, Ace. I can see you from right here."

A "pfft" was heard from one of the branches. "Yes, Rouge, but you're also a bat. You have an advantage over the people who do know what to look for."

The bat chuckled again. "Get down here."

"Fine, fine."

There was a slight rustling of leaves from one of the branches, and then someone jumped down from the tree. It turned out to be a blue fox, also dressed in a GUN combat uniform. She had choppy layers in her nearly waist-length hair. A pair of dark-tinted glasses rested on top of her head. She had two guns attached to her belt, as well as a device that looked like a tazer. Her eyes were a deep chocolate brown that flashed with knowledge. What struck Sonic, however, were her two tails that moved with the slight breeze.

"Y…You…" He couldn't make the words come out of his mouth.

The fox glanced towards him after allowing Rouge a hug. "Well, well… if it isn't Sonic the Hedgehog. I must say, it's a pleasure to meet you."

"Uh… y-you too, Ace," he said sheepishly.

The fox waved a hand dismissively. "You can call me by my real name, Alustriel."

"Alustriel…?"

Sonic turned to Robyn, who hadn't said a word until now. The grey fox was staring wide-eyed at Alustriel. "R…Ro-"

She held a hand up to silence him. Slowly, she came forward until she was face-to-face with Alustriel, who was watching her curiously. "Alustriel… is it really you…?"

The blue fox frowned. "Who… who are you…?"

"It's me… Robyn… your sister," Robyn stammered.

Alustriel's brown eyes widened slightly. Then her expression hardened. "Prove it. You look nothing like Robyn."

The grey fox almost took a step back, wounded. Then she took a deep breath and steadied herself. "I… okay… we have two sisters, Zoey and Sapphira. Our youngest sibling and only brother is Tails. You and Zoey were born just minutes apart…"

Alustriel said nothing. Her expression was still skeptical. Robyn swallowed before finishing with twelve words: "You and Zoey said that my eyes are like the rarest emeralds…"

The blue fox's eyes widened again. She stared into Robyn's eyes, finally noticing how bright her eyes were. They were just like her sister's had been… which meant…

A few tears slid down the agent's cheeks. "Robyn…? Is it honestly and truly you…?"

The grey fox nodded. Her face crumpled as she threw herself at her sister. A huge smile curled Alustriel's lips as she rubbed Robyn's back while the grey fox cried. Sonic, Rouge, and Topaz just stood there in total amazement.

"Well… this isn't what I expected," Sonic finally said.

Rouge nodded. "Ace… she talks about her family from time to time… how they were separated… and how much she misses them…"

"Now she's got some back," Topaz murmured.

Robyn finally pulled back and got a good look at her sister. "You look good, Alussie…"

The agent nearly choked at hearing that- nobody had called her "Alussie" in ages. "You do as well… what the heck happened to you?"

Robyn winced. "I wouldn't say that it was good, necessarily…"

Alustriel frowned. "What do you mean…?"

Robyn looked nervous. "Oh, Alussie… I… I…"

"She's a vampire," Rouge interrupted.

The blue fox gave her a Look. "Very funny, Rouge. Now hush."

"Umm… she's right, Alustriel," Sonic chimed in. "Robyn has a vampire stalker who changed her."

She looked at him like he was crazy. Then she turned back to Robyn, who had averted her gaze to the ground. "Robyn…? They're pulling my leg, right…?"

Robyn sighed as she looked up. "I wish they were, Aluss… look at how pale I am compared to the rest of you."

The agent held her arm out. Robyn put her arm next to it, and Alustriel gasped- her sister's fur definitely WAS paler. "Robyn… you…"

"Look at how sharp my teeth are," Robyn continued as she opened her mouth and pointed to her fangs.

Alustriel did so with obvious reluctance. Her sister's teeth did look sharper than normal. "You…"

"Not to mention… how cold I am," Robyn finished as she touched Alustriel's exposed neck.

The agent gasped in shock and jumped back, her brown eyes widening with disbelief. "Oh my god…"

Her sister blushed a bit. "Sorry, sis…"

"It… It's fine," the agent said shakily.

Sonic looked amused. "You don't sound particularly convincing, Miss Alustriel."

The blue fox shot him a glare. Her brown eyes were suddenly icy cold, causing Sonic to step back a bit. "Uhm…"

"Don't joke with Ace too much, hon," Topaz said while Rouge was trying not to laugh.

"You tell me that NOW," Sonic sighed, a bit irritated. "Sorry, Alustriel."

"It's fine," the agent repeated stiffly.

Robyn smiled. She was also trying not to laugh at the current scene. Sonic's wary expression, however, made it difficult and she ended up bursting into laughter.

Sonic immediately turned to her. "What?"

"Your… expression!" she choked.

He blinked. "My expression…?"

"She thinks your expression is funny," Rouge chuckled.

The hedgehog looked to Robyn for an explanation. She took several deep breaths in order to calm herself before she spoke. "Your expression… you looked scared of Alustriel."

"Okay then," Sonic replied with a roll of his eyes.

"Heh… someone's afraid to admit it," Rouge teased.

"Merrrrrrr." Sonic stuck his tongue out at the bat.

Topaz shook her head at the two. Robyn turned to Alustriel again and fidgeted a little. "Um… Aluss..? Have… have you heard from Zoey or Sapphira?"

Alustriel glanced at her and smiled a bit sadly. "Sorry, sis… I haven't heard a word in a few years…"

The grey fox blinked as she registered her sister's words. "Wait… so you already saw them? After we were separated? When?"

The agent sighed as she recalled the event. "Um… it was a few years after the storm. I was in Apotos, buying some food for myself one day when a fuss broke out in the town square. There were two foxes, arguing with each other…"

Robyn's eyes widened. "Two foxes… and they were-"

"Zoey and Sapphira," Alustriel nodded. "Sapphira was accusing Zoey of something… stealing something from her, I think. And Zoey got ticked off and… she punched Sapphira right in the face… of course, I intervened, and they were shocked to see me. They thought that I was dead, along with you and Tails…"

She rubbed her eyes and then her temple. "Sapphira was desperate to know about you, Robyn… after all, you were always her favorite sister. She was heartbroken when she learned that you weren't with me… and of course she and Zoey were hugely disappointed to hear that Tails wasn't with me, either. I told them that I hadn't seen either of you, and that I would contact them if I ever did find you…"

Robyn's face was crumpling again. "Oh, Alussie…"

"But, like I said… that was a few years ago. I haven't seen or heard from them since," Alustriel said softly.

Robyn looked disappointed. "Oh…"

Sonic, who happened to be listening to the conversation, came closer to Robyn and hugged her close. The grey fox couldn't help but rest her head on his chest. She squeezed her eyes shut, but the tears managed to escape her eyes. Sonic sighed as he ruffled her hair.

"Don't worry, Robyn… I promise that we'll find them," he whispered into her ear.

**A/N: YAAAAAAAAAAY! Chapter 9 is done! And it's a long chappie! Not much to say about the situation with Tails and the others, but for Robyn and Sonic? Plenty. The most important thing is that Robyn is reunited with one of her three sisters, Alustriel Prower, who happens to work with Rouge! How did this come about? And what happened to Tails and the others?  
Plus, I am back in action! … Well, mostly. Like I said, school is taking a huge priority this year, so updates might be sparse. I WILL try to update as often as I can.  
Robyn: I will whack her over the head if I have to!  
Uhm… how about not? ^_^' anyway… reviews are like cookies! The more, the better! That, and more reviews = more likely that I will update sooner! ^^**


	11. The Mission and Two New Faces

***peeps out from behind a stone wall* Um… I know it hasn't been seven months since I last updated… right?  
Sonic: GET HER!  
Everyone else: *holding pitchforks and sticks of fire* YEAH!  
Wait! I have a legitimate reason for not updating! DON'T KILL ME! *cowers* since November, things have been crazy. My grades started sky-rocketing towards the ground, especially in Honors Chem and Honors Algebra. It got so bad that my parents blocked access to all of my fun sites, including Fanfiction, for about 4 months. I was almost severely depressed for a while and had NO inspiration whatsoever. I'm still recovering from the lack of inspiration, but since I'm out of school for the summer, I should have more time to write… I hope. I also have summer homework and summer school stuff, but that shouldn't take much of my summer.  
Sonic: Okay, guys. Back down.  
Everyone else: *grumbles and backs off*  
Thanks ^^;; anyway, I have a chapter for you. It's long-ish, I think. I just hope it's enough to make up for my absence. Here you go!  
Disclaimer: I only own Robyn, Kelly, Shawn, Aero, Alustriel, and the two new characters at the end of the chapter.**

_Chapter Ten_

"Tails… wake up…"

The young kitsune groaned and turned onto his side. "Five more minutes, Robyn…"

"Oy. Wake up."

He frowned absently. That voice definitely wasn't feminine, like his sister's. "Ehhhhhhhhhhhh… whaa….?"

"Tails, please wake up…"

That voice was feminine, but it wasn't Robyn's. The owner of that voice, he presumed, was the one who gently shook him a few seconds later. He groaned again. "Okay, okay… I'm getting up…"

He opened his sleepy blue eyes and was greeted by a bright white light. He groaned again and lifted a hand to shield his eyes as he sat up. He blinked a few times to help his eyes adjust. Once they did, his friends' faces swam into view. Amy was sitting on the edge of the bed, smiling softly as she briefly rested her hand on the fox's hand. Shadow was standing next to the pink hedgehog with his arms crossed and his crimson eyes locked on the kitsune's face. Knuckles was behind both hedgehogs with his hands behind his head. The last face, of course, belonged to Kelly. She was the one standing closest to him. Her arctic-blue eyes were locked on his, and her hand was on his shoulder.

She smiled and pulled her hand away once the groggy genius offered a small smile of his own. "Hey, sleepyhead. Glad to see you back in the land of the living."

Tails chuckled as he stretched. "What happened, exactly…? I remember Eggman ordering Aero and Shawn to take us back to the cells…"

"Shawn did something with his arm that made us pass out," Amy said.

"Chaos Cataleptic," Knuckles said grimly.

The others turned to him. "You know something about this?" Shadow asked.

The red echidna nodded. "A little bit… Chaos Cataleptic is said to be another rare power. You can cause your target to fall unconscious. Some can live their lives without knowing that they possess the ability."

"Shawn is one of the few that knows that he has it," Kelly said sadly.

"Which spells trouble for the rest of us," Tails muttered.

Knuckles and Kelly nodded. It went quiet for a minute or two. Then Amy cleared her throat. "What I don't understand is why old Egghead had Shawn do that. Instead of making us pass out, why didn't he tell Shawn to make us submit to his commands?"

"The doctor may have bigger plans in mind. He may be planning to have Shawn control us when Robyn and Faker are here," Shadow said.

Everyone fell silent again. What Shadow had said made sense. "Eggman never did think small," Tails finally said.

"He could get us all with one shot… if we allow him to do so," Knuckles said.

Amy nodded. "So we either have to stop Robyn and Sonic from getting here…"

"Or we have to break out of here," Kelly finished.

She glanced around the cell. "I think I have an idea…"

**-XxXxX-**

"So what's the big mission out here?" Sonic asked later that night as he and Robyn sat around a roaring fire with the GUN agents.

Alustriel rested her right hand over her knee while using her left hand to support her body leaning to the side. Her hair fell to the side, leaving the right side of her neck exposed. "As you know quite well, we used to have a prison out on this island to hold criminals. That had to change when Dr. Eggman blew the place up. The Commander, however, decided to keep tabs out here in case anything unusual happened. A few weeks ago, we started getting strange energy readings. A few agents were sent out to investigate, and they came back claiming that there was something out here. The Commander asked several of us more-trained agents to come see what's going on."

"But, as you heard from Topaz earlier, a few agents have pretty much dropped the assignment," Rouge sighed.

"It's just us three, plus Agent Kingsley," Topaz said while gesturing to the quiet red-haired human.

"We were running out of options and ideas. That's why I went out to explore the island. I wanted to see if there was anyone or anything out here that could help us figure out what's going on," Rouge said.

"Who would live out in the middle of nowhere, though?" Robyn asked as she absently leaned against Sonic.

Alustriel shrugged. "You never know. I've seen people living in weird places."

"There's not much we can do tonight, so we'll have to get ready," Topaz said as she stood up and beckoned to Agent Kingsley.

Sonic watched as the two humans walked away before turning to the others. "Have you found ANYTHING out here…?"

"We got out here late this morning. As you should remember, the old base was further inland," Rouge said.

The hedgehog stared at the ground Alustriel looked at Robyn. "Well, you didn't really explain much about yourself… what's with you? Other than the vampire thing, obviously."

"I was captured by Dr. Eggman seven years ago. Mostly I've been out of sight in a stasis tube. I think Eggman was recording data on my DNA or something, with the whole vampire thing altering me a bit. I managed to escape a few months ago and have been hiding in the woods. I rescued Sonic and Tails earlier, but then I was attacked and ended up in the hospital. Then I ran into the others again and Aero showed up. He revealed himself to be Shadow's clone, Shadow being a sort-of friend of mine, and then he somehow Chaos Controlled us here," Robyn said.

Her sister frowned. "Shadow? As in Shadow the Hedgehog? The one who helped Eggman blow the moon up and nearly destroyed the planet?"

"That's the one," Sonic said absently as he continued to stare at the ground.

Alustriel's brown eyes narrowed. "The Commander isn't going to like that…"

"Why? What does the Commander have to do with Shadow?" Robyn asked.

"A lot, actually. The Commander lived on the ARK when Shadow was created. He watched as the GUN soldiers killed everyone in order to get to the hedgehog. They even killed his only friend, who was a child. Her name was Maria. Because of that, he blamed Shadow and has been seeking revenge all these years," Alustriel said quietly.

Robyn's jade eyes became thoughtful. "Maria… he's talked about her. He said that she was his only friend. She was the only one besides Professor Gerald who treated him kindly. He never mentioned that the Commander was there as well…"

"Shadow has had issues with his memories ever since he came back from the dead. He might not remember the Commander being on the ARK," Sonic said.

"If he doesn't, he'll remember at some point. The Commander will see to that," Rouge said grimly.

Alustriel nodded. She turned to Robyn again. "How… how's Tails?"

"I wouldn't be the person to ask. Sonic has been taking care of him since I was captured," Robyn replied.

The blue fox turned to Sonic with a questioning glance. Sonic grinned. "He's all right. Brilliant kid, but very bashful sometimes. Nonetheless, he has come through for me many times."

"But… he's not with you now?" Alustriel asked.

Sonic winced. "We… had a bit of an incident. Robyn and I aren't here by choice, as she said earlier."

He started retelling the events that had occurred. As he talked, the blue fox's face remained somehow passive, although she was quite startled by the story of Aero and by Shadow sending Sonic and Robyn away. Robyn also jumped in at times, adding bits that the hedgehog missed or correcting him on events.

When they finished, Alustriel shook her head. "Wow… just wow… that's crazy."

"Eh. I'm used to it," Sonic shrugged.

"So when you two were sent away from the fight, it was Shadow and Tails versus Aero?" the blue fox asked.

"Plus my friends Knuckles the Echidna and Amy Rose," Sonic nodded.

"Knucklehead was there?" Rouge asked, suddenly interested.

Alustriel smirked. "You can't POSSIBLY be interested in that echidna, Rouge."

"Pfft, who said I was?" the bat quickly countered.

Robyn looked at her sister questioningly. The blue fox shook her head in a "Not now" sort of motion. "I should think that they would have a good chance…"

"Strength doesn't always lie in numbers. Aero was evenly matched with Shadow, if not more," Sonic said.

Something seemed to register in Alustriel's eyes. Before Sonic could look closer, however, it was gone. "So… you're saying that Aero could have them."

Sonic nodded. "That's why we need to get off the island… and find them."

"We can help you, no problem. Our mission needs to be completed first," Rouge said.

"Understandable," Robyn said quietly.

"So what's the plan?" Sonic asked.

Alustriel reached into the pocket of her uniform and pulled out a piece of paper. Motioning to the others, she got up and walked over to a tree stump. She spread the paper out on the uneven wood. Upon getting a closer look, Sonic saw that it was an old layout of the entire island. Right in the middle was where the prison used to be.

"Wow… where did you get this?" he asked.

"You should be able to guess," Alustriel deadpanned.

Rouge and Topaz snickered. Robyn smiled at her sister's comeback. Sonic stammered a bit before pulling himself together. "I… I knew that it came from GUN."

"Mmhmm." Alustriel was not amused. "Sure you did."

Sonic grumbled something incoherent. The blue fox shot him a Look before turning her attention back to the map. She pointed to a location on the paper. "We're here. That means that the ruins are… here-" she slid her finger to the middle- "which, thankfully, isn't a great distance."

"So we could just walk there," Topaz said.

"True. We would just need to be armed and be alert," Rouge mused.

"Do we go now?" Robyn asked.

"No… we should get some sleep first," Alustriel said.

"Sounds good to me," Sonic said before emitting a yawn. "I'll be over here."

He walked over to the dimming fire, accepted a sleeping bag from Agent Kingsley, and went to sleep after curling up in the sleeping bag. The four girls looked at each other and shrugged.

"I'll take watch. You three can sleep," Rouge said before flying up to a tree branch that was perfect enough to conceal her.

The other three nodded in agreement. Robyn and Alustriel claimed a spot near each other while Topaz slept under the tree that Rouge was in. Kingsley slept away from the group, which Rouge found very odd. He usually wasn't very socially awkward, yet he had been quiet throughout the whole mission so far. Deciding to ask him about it later, the bat settled into her watch.

**-XxXxX-**

"Would you like more tea, Momma?" Cream the Rabbit asked sweetly.

Her mother, Vanilla, shook her head politely. "No, thank you, dear. The tea party was lovely, but we must prepare dinner now. As you know, the Chaotix are coming over."

"Ooh, yes! Charmy said that he would teach me how to play a new game!" Cream said excitedly as she placed her tea stuff in a box labeled "Tea Party".

"That's lovely, dear," Vanilla said as she began to make carrot soup.

"Momma, I'm going to go outside and pick some flowers. I'll be inside soon!" the young rabbit called as she walked out the front door.

Vanilla smiled. "Don't be long, dear!"

As soon as Cream was outside, she took a deep breath of fresh air and smiled happily. She loved days like this: warm, even though the sun was setting, with wispy clouds floating across the fire-streaked sky. Days like this meant eating outside and having friends over for dinner. They also meant having her favorite treat- ice cream!

"I should ask Momma if we have any ice cream left from yesterday," she said to herself as she knelt in front of a patch of pure white flowers.

"Hey, Cream!"

The rabbit turned around upon hearing her name called. Her eyes lit up as they landed on a familiar figure. "Blaze!"

Blaze the Cat smiled as Cream rushed over and hugged her. "Whoa, hey there. Don't knock me over."

"What are you doing here? I thought you were back in your own dimension," Cream said as she stepped back to get a good look at her friend.

"Silver and I decided to come and visit, since it has been a while," the feline replied.

"Mr. Silver is here too?" Cream asked.

Before Blaze could respond, a light green glow surrounded Cream and lifted her up into the air. However, she wasn't up very high and she had seen this glow before. She laughed delightedly as Blaze rolled her eyes.

"Quit being a show-off, Silver, and come say hi!" she called out.

Cream was gently placed on the ground before the green glow around her vanished. Then a white hedgehog with gold eyes came out from behind a tree, grinning sheepishly.

"Come on, Blaze. You know that was the perfect dramatic entrance," he quipped.

"We're not here for dramatic entrances, we're here to see our friends," Blaze shot back.

Cream giggled and curtsied to Silver, "Hello, Mr. Silver. It's nice to see you again."

"Back at you, Cream," Silver smiled.

The front door to Cream's house swung open and Vanilla appeared on the front porch. She was dusting her hands off as the three friends walked over. "Oh, there you are, Cream. I was wondering where you went. Blaze and Silver! I haven't seen you two in a while."

"Hello, Miss Vanilla," Silver said politely as Blaze bowed to the older rabbit.

"Would you two like to join us for dinner? We have extra seats," Cream said.

"If your mother doesn't mind, we would be honored," Blaze said.

Vanilla nodded. "You two are more than welcome to stay for dinner."

"Yay! Thank you, Momma!" Cream cheered as she hugged the older rabbit.

Before Vanilla could respond, there was a loud CRASH from the forest. The group of four turned towards the trees just in time to see two foxes tussling with each other. One of them was a red fox wearing a white tank top, blue jean shorts, and grey sneakers. She had multiple piercings in her left ear and three bracelets made of beads on her right wrist. Her hair reached just above her waist and had silvery-grey streaks in it. Her eyes were a bright blue. The other fox was purple with hazel eyes and shoulder-length hair. She was wearing a sky-blue t-shirt, black leggings, and black ankle boots. She had a red heart-shaped necklace around her neck and a silver watch on her left wrist.

"Not bad, Zoey," the purple fox taunted as the pair stood up.

Zoey, as the red fox was called, smirked. "You aren't too bad yourself, Sapphira. You've been training without me, it seems."

Before the two could start up their tussle again, Cream called out to them. "Hello, there! May I ask why you two are fighting?"

The two foxes jumped at hearing a new voice. They turned to see Cream coming up the path with Vanilla, Silver, and Blaze behind her. "Fighting isn't very nice, you know. There's too much of it," Cream continued.

"Umm…" Sapphira and Zoey continued to stare at the rabbit.

"I apologize. She's only a child," Blaze said.

The red fox grinned. "Ah, it's okay. Kids are cool."

"Sucker," the purple fox muttered.

The red fox glared at her. "Ignore my sister, good folks. She's a buzz kill."

"Sister?" Silver asked.

"I know what you're thinking. We look nothing alike. Well… our family is complicated. My name is Sapphira, and the obnoxious red chick is my sister, Zoey," Sapphira introduced.

"I'm Blaze the Cat. This is Silver the Hedgehog, Cream the Rabbit, and Cream's mother, Vanilla," the purple cat introduced.

Zoey's eyes pricked. "Hedgehog? Do… do you know Sonic the Hedgehog?"

"I'm not related to him, but yes, we know him," Silver said.

Sapphira sighed with relief. "That's good… we have to speak with him. His sidekick, Tails… is our little brother."

**I lost my edge towards the end. I can't concentrate at the moment because my parents have the TV blasting and they won't turn it down. So like I said, I was blocked from my fun sites by my parents and I was depressed for a while. Now that it's summer break, I'll have more time for my stories, which means more updates! … I hope.  
Robyn: See ya guys soon!**


	12. Zoey & Sapphira, The Plan, More Friends

**Hey guys! First off, IT HASN'T BEEN 7 MONTHS! :D  
So I was reading the reviews for this story recently, and it occurred to me that I might not have answered them all! Oops. So I'm gonna answer them right here. If I have already answered your review, oh well, you're getting another reply! I don't remember who I've answered and who I haven't.  
Sonic: Because you're forgetful like that…  
Shadow: I concur.  
Aww, c'mon guys! I have a terrible memory when it comes to stuff like this ): anyway… to the reviews!**

_**Symphony-of-the-Soul:**_** Thank you SOOOO much for all of the advice! I mean, seriously, thank you! And it's okay that your stories aren't done. They're still amazing! I hope you've been reading this since you reviewed, but it's okay if you haven't. I especially your story "High School and Figure Skating", in case you didn't remember~ I hope you and I are able to continue our stories!**

_**Sonia911 (guest):**_** I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter, as well as the rest of the story so far!**

_**E-scopeisawesome (guest):**_** I'm glad you like it! Tails is one of my favorite characters, too :D he's just a cute fluffball of smartness! I hope that the following chapters were a bit longer for your taste. I tried to make them longer, because I like long chapters xD and legasp! CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIE! How did you know?! Hehe.**

_**Hylius:**_** I'm glad you like my writing style and plot line. If you could give me some examples of points that you are confused on, I can either try to explain them more to you or I can go back and fix 'em completely. Just let me know!**

_**56th Reg. Pvt. Levinski Prower:**_** Yeah, if Shadow ever finds out about them, it won't be pretty, considering that he kinda cares for her. Trust me, the worst won't come for a while. There will just be those kinds of situations where it's like "Oh, crap." I hope you're still enjoying the story :D**

_**WolfLover17:**_** Part of my problem is that sometimes I'm able to write, I'm just lazy. Hahaha. I get distracted very easily. I'm working on it, though!**

_**xoJaadiexo:**_** *gives Tails to you so you can hug him* Yeah, the poor boy needs lots of hugs. I'm glad you think the story is awesome!**

_**Taeniaea:**_** Thank you! ^^**

_**The Forgery of Cow 71:**_** Okay, I remember replying to you because after you asked for an update, I updated like 3 days later xD but still, I'm gonna respond to you here. How are you enjoying the story so far?**

_**GirlontheStreet (guest):**_** I love your name, even if you don't have an account! Thanks for the kind words. I know that most people don't like OCs, which may be a reason why this story doesn't have as many reviews as I would like. Oh well, it's their loss I guess. I'm glad you think my OCs are cool; I know 1 or 2 people who might disagree (long story…) anyway, thanks for pointing that out about Amy. I'm trying to make her blend in a bit more with the story so she doesn't seem "stuck in" like you said.**

_**BlackSandHeart: Yay**_**! Pen-name twin! :D I'm flattered that you like my OCs and the plot line. Yeah, Tails has a bigger family now, which is good. He's a cutie :D and yes, in a creepy way, Katherine is related to a vampire. Oh noes! I'd love to see how she would react to that.  
Aero: What? I have a sister as well? *stares* What is this shenanigans?  
Shadow: *smirks* Ha ha ha. Sucks to be youuuu, 'cuz you're left out on everything.  
Aero: Why you little… *growls* At least she's attractive, like myself. Of course, not as attractive as my dear Robyn-  
*slaps Aero with a frying pan* Get out of here, you creep! Anyway, I hope you'll stick around for a while :D**

_**Suki Takayoshi:**_** Haha, I don't mind if you put it all into one review. It actually makes it a bit easier, considering that I'm answering all of the reviews (so far) this chapter. I didn't know that fox cubs were born in larger litters… that's really interesting. When I first started this story, I actually didn't plan on the whole vampire thing. But then I realized that 1) I needed Aero to be different from Shadow in some aspect and 2) Since Aero is freakishly obsessed with Robyn, why not try and change her into his immortal other? I honestly don't remember where I got the vampire idea from, buut now I'm glad that I used it. I used to be a Twilight fan somewhat; not so much anymore so no offence taken. I'm glad you like the story!**

_**Strife the Dark 152:**_** Hi! I'm glad you like the idea. It took me a while to decide what to write about. Haha, love triangles… never a good thing. Although right now, it's just Sonic who has openly confessed that he may like her. Shadow seems like he cares for her to an extent, but we'll see what happens. I'm also glad that you like my other characters! I was worried that people would think that they were… I dunno.**

**Phew. Now that those are done, I can finally give you the next chapter! We'll get into Zoey and Sapphira's side to the story, Kelly's idea on how to break out, and back to Sonic and Robyn helping Rouge, Alustriel, and Topaz with their mission! LET'S DOOOOOO IITTTT!  
Disclaimer: I own Robyn, Kelly, Zoey, Alustriel, Emily, Shawn, and Aero. Sapphira is my sister's character. Katherine, Windy, Zap, Xerius, and Xsus belong to BlackSandHeart. Everyone else is owned by SEGA.**

_Chapter Eleven_

"Tails is your brother?!" Cream exclaimed.

The red fox, Zoey, nodded. "We've been separated for about ten years now."

"Not only that, but we're also trying to find our other two sisters named Alustriel and Robyn," the purple fox, Sapphira, explained.

"Tails has four sisters…? He has never mentioned them in all of the time that we've known him," Vanilla said.

"Everyone has their secrets, Miss Vanilla. It just so happens that Tails is one of the people," Blaze murmured.

"Wait… Tails has never mentioned us?" Sapphira asked.

"No… he hasn't," Silver said, feeling a pang of sympathy for the looks on her and Zoey's faces. Pure shock.

"Not even Robyn? He had to have mentioned her; she was his favorite sister out of all of us," Zoey said desperately.

Cream shook his head. "He never mentioned her…"

"I guess it kind of figures that he wouldn't mention US, Zoey," Sapphira said quietly as she fidgeted with the bottom of her shirt, "He was only two when we were split by that accident…"

"Split? Accident?" Blaze asked.

Sapphira glanced around. "Could we, maybe… discuss this inside? Being out here where anyone can hear us doesn't sit well with me."

"Sure. Right this way," Vanilla said as she led everyone inside.

Cream ran to her mother's side and tugged on her hand. "Momma? What about the Chaotix coming here for dinner?"

Vanilla opened her mouth to respond, but a familiar voice outside stopped her from doing so. "Heeey, Vector! Vanilla has gotten new flowers around the garden. Look, look! Aren't they pretty?!"

"Charmy, be quiet!" a gruff voice responded.

Vanilla smiled apologetically at the others, who looked confused. "I am truly sorry, everyone. Cream and I originally planned to have guests over for dinner. It'll be a bit of squeeze when they come in."

"We can leave, Miss Vanilla, and come another time," Silver said as he stood up from his chair by the door.

"Oh, no no. We'll make it work. I'll be right back," she smiled before she left the room.

Silver sat down with a shrug of his shoulders. When the elder rabbit was out of hearing range, Sapphira spoke up. "She is extremely polite. I've never met anyone with such good manners, much less an adult who is as polite as she is."

"Momma believes in good manners. That's why I'm extremely polite despite my age," Cream said.

"Impressive," Zoey commented.

The room fell quiet. Then Vanilla returned with a green, a purple chameleon, and a black and yellow bee. "Cream, the Chaotix are here."

"It's nice to see you again, Mr. Vector, Mr. Espio, and Charmy," Cream said as she dipped her head in greeting.

"Aww! Why don't I get to be called Mr. Charmy?!" the bee whined.

"Be quiet, Charmy. And it's because you and Cream are the same age," Vector said in his gruff voice.

Espio said nothing. He was somewhat preoccupied with the other four people in the room. He recognized two of them from description by Sonic, causing his lips to turn upwards slightly. His small smile fell, however, as his eyes landed on the other two occupants. He didn't recognize them, but they seemed to have good intentions. He decided to let it slide and let Vanilla explain.

"I wasn't aware that we were engaged in a full dinner party, Miss Vanilla," he said calmly.

Vector and Charmy looked over at their comrade and noticed the other four guests. "Uh…"

"I'm terribly sorry about this, Chaotix. It happened last-minute," the elder rabbit explained.

"That's quite all right," Vector immediately reassured her, "after all, the more the merrier. Right?"

"Right!" Cream beamed. "I guess I should introduce everyone."

Silver stood up again, cutting the young rabbit off. "I'm Silver the Hedgehog, and this my best friend, Blaze the Cat. It's a pleasure to meet you, um…"

"Team Chaotix," Vector introduced, "at your service. I'm Vector the Crocodile, assisted by Espio the Chameleon and Charmy Bee here."

"The pleasure is ours," Espio said, "Sonic has spoken highly of the two of you."

"Heh, figures," Blaze chuckled.

Vector turned to Zoey and Sapphira. "And you are…?"

"Zoey and Sapphira Prower," the two chorused.

Espio frowned again. "Prower? Isn't that the last name of Sonic's sidekick?"

"Tails? Yeah. Miles 'Tails' Prower, if I can remember correctly. Are you two related to him?" Vector asked.

Zoey nodded. "We are two of his four sisters."

"Tails has four sisters?!" Charmy exclaimed.

"Yes. These two were about to explain everything when you showed up for dinner. I will serve appetizers for right now so we can understand what is going on here," Vanilla said.

She left the room and returned a few seconds later with mini sandwiches for everyone. Zoey and Sapphira scarfed theirs down rather quickly so they could begin their story. Zoey brushed her hair aside before she began. "Our family consists of our parents, Rosemary and Amadeus, and the five kids in this order: Alustriel, me, Robyn, Sapphira, and Tails. Aluss and I were born at the same time while Sapphira and Robyn were hours apart. In different years, of course. Aluss and I were eight years old when Tails was born; Sapphira and Robyn were five. You could say we were a big family, but we were happy nonetheless."

Sapphira took over when Zoey paused. "However, everything changed when Tails turned two… Dad started staying out late at night and seemed really distant when we talked to him. Mom grew more and more irritated with a lot of things. And then… one day… there was a terrible storm. Neither of us can remember exactly what happened, but we were all split up. I ended up with Zoey. We don't know about the others."

"Robyn must have ended up with Alustriel because Tails never mentioned anything about his family when we met," Cream said.

"It might have been too painful for him to remember, dear. When families are split up, it leaves a terrible feeling behind. Some families may never be reunited, making the feeling a whole lot worse. For all we know, Tails could have ended up with Alustriel or Robyn," Vanilla said.

"If that happened, something else would have had to have happened to Tails, since he ended up with Sonic at some point," Vector pointed out.

"He's got a point," Espio said.

"That's why we're hoping that Sonic may know something. If Tails mentioned anything about us to anyone, it would have to have been Sonic," Zoey said.

"I don't know… Sonic has never given any hint to Tails's past, nor has Tails himself. If Sonic knows anything about you girls, he has kept it secret or something. Probably for Tails's sake," Vanilla said.

"We must speak with him. Maybe by finding Tails, we can find out what happened to Alustriel and Robyn," Sapphira said.

"We can try going to Tails's workshop. He's usually always there with Sonic. However, it'll be dark soon and it'll take time to get there if all of us go," Cream said.

"Cream is right. We need to wait until tomorrow, when we have more time to talk to them," Blaze said.

Vanilla nodded. "We can make sleeping arrangements later. Right now, let's eat."

**-XxXxX-**

Shadow and the others didn't budge when Decoe and Bocoe came to their new cell and shoved a tray of food in. The robots expected a glare, a snide comment, a rude gesture, anything. They were quite surprised when the prisoners remained still. Thinking that the Mobians were just sulking, the robots shrugged and left. Once they were gone, the group moved over to the tray and began to eat their small portions.

"Since when did Eggman know how to cook?" Amy asked.

"I don't think he does. He probably programmed a robot to do the cooking," Kelly said.

"Most likely," Tails agreed.

The group fell into silence again as they ate. Once the last crumb had been eaten, Kelly cleared her throat. "All right, does everyone remember the plan?"

She received a collective nod from the others. "Okay… here goes everything."

The remaining Mobians watched as the blue echidna walked over to the steel door and started banging her fists on it. "Someone open the door! I have a demand to make!"

They waited. Kelly was about to start yelling again when a window in the door slid open, revealing the childish face of Bokkun, Eggman's messenger. "What do you want?"

"I have to have a shower. I'm gross and sweaty," the female echidna said as she stared Bokkun down.

Bokkun stared at her for a few seconds before bursting into his annoying laughter. "What kind of 'demand' is THAT?! Ahahahahahaha! Well, too bad! Orders are orders, and Dr. Eggman told me not to give you anything unless he orders it!"

A scowl crossed Kelly's face. She reached through the window, grabbed Bokkun by his neck and lifted him off of the ground. She brought him up so they were eye-to-eye. "Listen, you little punk. You owe me BIG time for all of those 'favors' that I did for you when I was here. I cooked for you, I cleaned for you, I took the blame for you, I took over your job when you claimed to be ill, I-"

"All right, all _right_!" Bokkun squealed as he struggled to get her to let go, "I'll do it! Just let me go!"

Kelly looked at him warily before letting him go. Bokkun hit the ground and spluttered as he tried to massage his throat. Tails, Amy, Shadow, and Knuckles could only listen while Kelly waited, still scowling. She pulled her arm back in and crossed her arms as the messenger stood up. His lip quivered and he looked like he was going to cry. Instead he grumbled to himself as he pulled the key to the cell out of his bag and stuck it into the keyhole. He opened the door carefully and immediately shot a warning look at everyone, daring them to attack. When no one moved, he turned to Kelly and put laser cuffs around her wrists. He shoved her out the door and was about to follow when Amy's hammer came down hard on the back of his head.

"Nice job," Kelly said as Tails searched Bokkun's unconscious body for the key to the cuffs.

"Thank you. I can be pretty mean with this thing," Amy winked with a giggle.

Knuckles and Shadow ran to the janitor's closet at the end of the hallway and came back with rope and duct tape. While Amy helped them bind and gag Bokkun, Tails used the key to free Kelly's wrists. She stretched and gave Tails a grateful smile, making the fox blush a little bit and rub the back of his head.

"You know my sister, right…?" he asked shyly.

"I do. You're so lucky to have her as a sister. She is the nicest person I've ever met," Kelly replied.

"She's always been like that… willing to help other people…" Tails trailed off as the memories came flooding back.

Kelly noticed his change in expression and touched his arm. "What's wrong?"

"It's just… talking about my family is a sore thing for me to do. I was very young when my entire family was split up, and I lost Robyn sometime after that," he said as his ears lowered.

Sympathy flashed in the echidna's eyes as she offered a smile to him. "It's a terrible thing… but you have to keep moving forward. Especially now that Robyn is _back_ in your life. No matter if she's with you physically or not, she's always with you spiritually. Close siblings tend to have that bond."

"If I hurt, she hurts. If I'm happy, then she's happy. Is that what you mean?" Tails asked.

"Yep. That's a sibling bond in a nutshell," Kelly answered.

Tails glanced over to see that the others had finished. "Is he secure enough?"

"He won't be getting out for a while," Amy assured him.

"Good. We'll have a little bit of time before an alarm is sounded," Kelly said.

"Then let's get going," Shadow said.

The others nodded. Kelly glanced around the hallway before motioning to the others. She pointed left and allowed Tails to go first. Amy, Knuckles, and Shadow followed promptly, leaving Kelly to close the door of the cell. She glanced at Bokkun's unconscious frame, whispered an apology, and ran off to follow the others.

The mission was on. Full speed ahead.

**-XxXxX-**

"Psst. Robyn."

She shifted in her sleep. "Mmph…"

"Robyn. WAKE UP!"

Suddenly, she found herself being rolled over and dragged out of her sleeping bag by her hands. An odd squeak escaped her throat as the grass tickled her throat and stained her clothes. Laughter erupted around her, and then her hands were released. Her face hit the ground, resulting in an "Oomph". She remained there for a few seconds before she pushed herself up and flopped onto her back.

She growled as the cause of her interrupted sleep stood over her. "Some things never change."

Alustriel merely stuck her tongue out. "Good morning, sunshine."

Sonic, Rouge, and Topaz laughed while Robyn scowled. "Jerk."

"You aren't a morning person, are you?" Topaz surmised as she offered a hand to the fox.

The fox took it and dusted herself off once she was on her own two feet. "Whatever gave you the impression?"

Sonic laughed again, this time at her sarcasm, and played along. "Quite a few things, actually."

"Meehh," Robyn mumbled.

Rouge chuckled. "All right, guys. Come on, we have to get moving."

The others nodded. Robyn glanced around and noticed that Kingsley wasn't among them. "Hey… where's the other agent?"

Alustriel sighed. "He left."

Rouge whipped her head around to look at her friend. "What do you mean, he left?!"

"He left a note saying that the Commander called him back on another assignment. Kingsley informed him about Sonic and Robyn, so neither of them are too concerned about us at the moment. Looks like he thinks that we have the help we supposedly need," Alustriel snorted.

Robyn felt slightly hurt by that statement, but decided not to say anything. She fiddled with her locket and cast her eyes to ground. Sonic, on the other hand, narrowed his eyes at the blue fox. "Are you suggesting something?"

"No," Alustriel said coldly as she turned away, "Nothing at all."

Topaz cast an apologetic glance at Sonic and Robyn and lowered her voice so Alustriel couldn't hear. "Sorry about that… Ace can be a bit cold about people helping, especially when she thinks we don't need it."

"Sheesh. You'd think that she would be more accepting of Robyn, at least," Sonic muttered.

Rouge also lowered her voice. "She's probably still adjusting to the fact that Robyn is alive and back in her life. She'll come around sometime."

"If you guys are done yapping, we can get moving," Alustriel called out as she gathered the last sleeping bag.

Within minutes, the small group was all packed and ready to go. Topaz held the map while Rouge went on ahead. Robyn walked beside Topaz, asking questions about GUN and Alustriel. The blue fox was on the other side of Topaz and answered some of the questions. After a while, however, she dropped back by Sonic, who was trailing behind a little bit. He glanced at her for a second before looking away.

"Come to gripe some more about my help?" he asked irritably.

"No. I came to give you some advice," she replied.

Sonic scoffed. "About what? How to be on your level of expertise?"

"No. About Robyn," the blue fox said quietly.

Hearing her name made the hedgehog look up sharply. "What about her?"

"I'll only say it once. Don't try and trifle with her heart," Alustriel said as her brown eyes returned his gaze.

Sonic blinked. "What makes you think I will? Who says I even have feelings for her?"

The blue fox sighed as she stuck her hands in her pockets and looked at her sister ahead of them. "I can tell how you feel by the way you were looking at her. Those little glances last night told me enough. There's something there for her in your heart."

"Okay. Your point if I do have feelings for her?" the hedgehog asked as he tried to prevent his muzzle from getting red and revealing that she was right.

"Don't mess with her heart. She's the sensitive one out of the Prower family. If I'm right… she cares for you. Take it easy with her, and we'll get along just fine," Alustriel said.

Sonic thought about it for several seconds before catching her gaze and giving her his famous thumbs-up. "No problem."

He sped up and walked beside Robyn, grinning when she smiled at him. Alustriel watched them, smiling a bit when Sonic said something that made her sister laugh. Even though it had been ten years since she had seen Robyn, her laughter hadn't changed much. It was still uplifting to hear, and it told the blue fox that her sister was happy. As a GUN agent, happiness was almost always on the line. It pretty much formed the basis of any mission. That was why Alustriel took great pride in her work; she wanted the world to be happy.

Up ahead, Rouge jumped down from a tree and waited for the others to catch up. "Are we almost there?"

"Yes," Topaz answered as she looked up from the map, "Just through these trees."

Robyn looked at Sonic again. "What do you think we'll find?"

"Anything is possible. Be careful," the hedgehog replied.

"You too," she said softly.

Sonic glanced at her and smiled, all the while feeling his muzzle grow a tiny bit warm. "No worries… right?"

"Right," she nodded.

The group walked past the trees and found themselves near the entrance where the prison used to be. Robyn blinked at the ruins. "This is where Shadow was kept for fifty years?"

"It looked a lot more impressive before Egghead decided to blow it up," Sonic said.

"It was a challenge," Rouge admitted.

Alustriel looked at the ruins and then at her allies. "We don't knows what's in there, so we have to proceed with caution and-"

A sword suddenly whizzed past her, missing her by mere inches. The others immediately looked all around warily, for the sword seemed to come out of nowhere. Then another one came out, aiming for Sonic's heart. Rouge knocked him out of the way and almost had her wing torn off. Robyn growled and cupped her hands together, producing a ball of Starfire as she closed her eyes. Topaz, Rouge, and Alustriel looked stunned as Robyn spread her hands out and stretched the Starfire into a shield large enough to protect them.

"W-What is that?!" Topaz exclaimed.

"No time to explain! We have to figure out where they're coming from!" Robyn cried as a few more swords came at them.

The swords flew into the shield, crackled as the Starfire absorbed the attacks, and fell to the ground. Robyn grimaced each time a sword hit the crackling, blazing wall. "I don't think I can hold this up much longer…!"

"I think they're coming from the ruins!" Rouge called out.

"Leave it to me!" Sonic said boldly as he braced himself.

"Wait! That won't be necessary!" a voice called out.

The group watched as five people in cloaks emerged from the ruins. Sonic still kept on the defensive. "Who are you?"

The person in front stepped forward, emitting a small chuckle. "It's been a while… Sonic."

The hedgehog's eyes widened as the person removed the hood of their cloak. "K…Katherine!"

Katherine was a black cat with red streaks in her hair and bangs. She had sky-blue eyes, large cat ears, and a long tail. A blue diamond gleamed in the center of her forehead. She grinned at being recognized by her friend. "Good to see you haven't forgotten me."

"Of course not!" Sonic laughed.

Rouge's eyes lit up. "Katherine!"

"Hey, Rouge!" Katherine waved.

The others removed their cloaks. One was a female dark grey cat with forest-green eyes. Another was a golden cat with dark blue eyes and a zigzag scar running down the left side of his face. The third was a light brown cat with dark brown spots and dark brown eyes. The final was another golden cat who had leaf-like ears and ocean-blue eyes. Sonic grinned at recognizing all of them.

"If it isn't Windy, Zap, Xerius, and Xsus!" he said happily.

"Hello, Sonic and Rouge," Zap and Windy replied.

"Hiya, Sonic! Hiya, Rouge!" Xsus cried excitedly.

Xerius gave a small smile and communicated telepathically. _Hello, Sonic. And Rouge…_

The bat grinned from ear to ear as she ran over and hugged the brown cat. "I've missed you!"

"_And I you," _Xerius said as he accepted the embrace.

Robyn, Alustriel, and Topaz looked pretty confused. Robyn tapped Sonic's arm. "Who are these people?"

"Robyn, meet Katherine, Windy, Zap, Xerius, and Xsus. They're old friends of ours, and they're known as the Dimension Jumpers. They're also part of a group called the Light Givers. Guys, meet Robyn and Alustriel Prower," Sonic introduced.

"Hi! Great to meet ya!" Xsus exclaimed as he shook Robyn and Alustriel's hands.

"Um… you too, I guess," Robyn giggled.

Katherine frowned a little as she pondered something. "Prower… isn't that Tails's last name?"

"Yes. We are two of the four sisters that Tails has," Alustriel said as she glanced at Xsus warily.

Xerius raised an eyebrow. _Tails has siblings?_

"All girls? Yeesh. That must be tough," Zap commented.

"You don't even know half of it," Robyn said dryly.

"We can exchange stories later. Are you cats responsible for the weird energy waves in the ruins?" Alustriel demanded.

"We must be. No one else has been here," Windy said while shooting the blue fox a Look.

Alustriel crossed her arms, feeling satisfied. Robyn, however, frowned. A weird feeling started bubbling in her stomach and sweat ran down her forehead. "Uhh…"

Sonic turned to her and noticed that she looked ill. "Robyn? What's wrong?"

"I… I don't feel well… m-my… my vampire…" she whispered before she collapsed on the ground.

"Robyn!" Alustriel knelt by her sister and touched her face. The grey fox was burning up. The diamonds in her locket were glowing brightly, like they were reacting to something. She heard a gasp and turned to see Katherine with her hands on her knees. A pocket of her cloak was also glowing brightly.

"Katherine! Is that…?" Sonic trailed off.

The black cat reached into the pocket and pulled out an emerald that looked nothing like the Chaos Emeralds. It was white and had a black mass swirling in the center of it. It was indeed the thing that was glowing. "My Soul Emerald is reacting to something!"

"It's Robyn's locket!" Alustriel called out as she showed it to the others.

Katherine's eyes widened as the emerald floated out of her hand. It went over and floated above Robyn. Rouge pulled Alustriel away from the grey fox as the locket and the emerald glowed even brighter. Then the whole area went white. Everyone hit the ground and shielded their eyes. Their ears seemed to fill with noise that got louder and louder. After a few minutes, the light dimmed down and the sound faded. Everyone sat up and opened their eyes.

"W…What..?!" Sonic gasped.

Standing in Robyn's place was a blood-red fox with black streaks in her hair and on her arms and legs. Her outfit had changed to a black tank top, black short shorts, and black boots that reached above her knees. Her eyes with white with a hint of red. She looked like nothing like Robyn, who was nowhere in sight. Sonic watched as a cold smirk curled her lips while she stared back at the blue hedgehog.

"Well, well, well… Sonic the Hedgehog," she said.

Her voice didn't sound like Robyn's, either. It was cold and harsh. Sonic tried to keep himself together. "Robyn…?"

She laughed harshly. "Robyn isn't available at the moment. And she won't be for a while!"

"What have you done with my sister?!" Alustriel yelled.

The black fox pouted. "Aww, come on, Alussie. I'm your sister too."

Alustriel's eyes widened. "W-What?!"

"Robyn didn't bother explaining, did she? She was hoping that she could keep me secret. HAH! My name is Emily, and I am the vampire in this body!" the black fox proclaimed.

Katherine and the Dimension Jumpers were shocked. "Vampire!?"

Emily cackled. "Poor, misinformed creatures. It's too bad that you'll never be able to understand the full situation here."

She focused on Alustriel. "I'll start with one member of the Prower family as my snack!"

Alustriel barely rolled away as Emily lunged for her. _Crap!_

**Aaaaannddd I'm ending the chapter there :P you guys probably think that I'm terrible. The ending idea partially goes to Strife the Dark 152, who helped me think of the idea! Anyway, the Chaotix are now involved in the mess, Kelly shows a bit of a darker side with Bokkun, and Alustriel seems to be a bit unimpressed with the help that has been sent. Not to mention, Robyn's vampire side Emily has temporarily taken over! What's going to happen now that Robyn is out of commission and Emily wants blood spilled? And what about the others? Review and you'll find out soon! **


	13. Vampire, Attack, and Prower Reunion

**Hi guys! Wow, I am on a roll with this story… I'm getting some inspiration, I guess, and my amazing Ohana has left several reviews! The Ohana originated from several of us constantly reviewing on BlackSandHeart's stories, so we became a giant family. Of course, all of us go and review each other's stories, so it's really nice to see some familiar faces here on "ADR". Now, on to the reviews!**

_**Strife the Dark 152:**_** Yeah, Emily is pretty scary when she wants to feed… yikes! Haha, I bet Strife would be able to help… hmmm. I might put him in, but probably not for a chapter or two. I have to see where the next chapter ends up going.**

_**The Forgery of Cow 71:**_** Hahaha, it's not the year 2470. Are you happy now? XD I'm really glad that you love the story! As for reunions… I think you'll be happy with this chapter :D**

_**BlackSandHeart**_** (her review was sent to me in a PM because it wouldn't let her review for some reason): Hahaha! Yeah, Strife really helped me out with that ending bit. Yeah, Xsus is a true kid. He and Kelly are very similar in that aspect! I'm glad I got your characters down :D  
Robyn: Sorry! It was the vampire side!  
Sonic: That was so weird though…  
Robyn: Maybe things will be explained this chapter…  
Anyway, Emily. Enough said. She and Aero are both crazy. And I'm glad it's a "good" kind of dramatic!**

_**Cor Amicus: **_**Haha. I sometimes do that, especially if I'm trying to read the story in a hurry. I'm glad you like it! *bows* It's come a long way from when I started it Freshman year… holy crap, this story is old. Almost 3 years!**

**Now that's all said and done… ON TO THE CHAPTER!**  
_**Disclaimer: I only own Robyn, Aero, Shawn, Kelly, Alustriel, Zoey, and Emily. Sapphira belongs to my sister. Katherine, Windy, Zap, Xsus, and Xerius belong to BlackSandHeart. Everyone else belongs to SEGA.  
**_**PS- I find it more refreshing to view the story in ¾ mode instead of full mode. Just a suggestion c:**

Chapter Twelve

Emily growled as she missed Alustriel by a few mere inches. "Come here, you!"

"Not a chance!" Alustriel barked as she launched her foot into Emily's stomach.

The red fox was temporarily thrown off-balance as Alustriel's foot shoved her back a distance away. She briefly crashed onto the ground, but then she was back on her feet and poised to strike. Alustriel was trying to get her tazer out of the loop of her belt, but was having difficulty doing so. Emily saw her chance and lunged for the blue fox again, only to crash into Sonic. The hedgehog had started a spin-dash in order to protect the agent. Emily hissed and turned her attention to the blue speedster. He couldn't help but smirk as she tried to grab him and he simply stepped out of her way.

"Too slow! Give up now and give us Robyn back!" he demanded.

"Fat chance!" the red fox spat.

She faked a lunge and then managed to tackle Sonic when he moved. He grunted in surprise and tried to pry her off of him. They rolled around for a few seconds. Sonic almost managed to get the vampire off. She responded by pinning his arms down to the ground. Her eyes were filled with bloodlust and her fangs poked out in a satisfied grin. Sonic's eyes widened as she arched her head back and prepared for the attack. An idea popped into his head as he regarded the fox. It was a little crazy and definitely cheesy, but it was worth a shot over having his throat torn out.

"**ROBYN!**" he screamed as Emily dove in.

She recoiled. He looked up into her eyes. They flashed Robyn's shade of green for a few seconds, which gave him enough time to push her off and roll away. Then her eyes turned back to their vampiric state and Emily hissed again. She stood up and faced Sonic again, who was back on his feet and backed by Rouge, Topaz, and some of the Dimension Jumpers. The sight caused a smirk to curl her lips; she wasn't fazed by the fact that she was outnumbered. Then she was blasted with a jet of water from behind and she shrieked. She whipped around to see the young golden cat, Xsus, with the palm of his hand facing her.

She growled menacingly. "I've always had a fondness for children…"

She prepared to attack him, but she suddenly _screamed_ in agony as power electrical jolts ran through her body. She turned to see Alustriel with her tazer in hand and a smirk on her face. She tried to attack the blue fox, but the voltage got to be too much and she collapsed on the ground. For a moment, no one moved as they stared at Emily's unconscious frame. They had just managed to knock out a bloodthirsty vampire… or had they?

"Did you… did you get her?" Katherine asked Alustriel as everyone slowly walked over.

"Look," Alustriel said as she waved a hand.

Everyone watched as Emily's red fur returned to a shade of medium grey. Her outfit turned back into a purple blouse with a tiny bow on the neckline, a black ruffled skirt, and black knee-length leather boots with a silver stripe on them. The locket around her neck stopped glowing violently, and Katherine's Soul Emerald returned to the cat's outstretched hand. Then the fox stirred and opened her eyes, which were dark green. That could only mean…

"Robyn?" Alustriel asked.

The fox tried to lift a hand up but twitched and winced. "Ow… that's one powerful voltage, Alussie."

Her voice was light and sweet again. It was definitely Robyn, back to her old self. Alustriel embraced her sister before allowing Sonic to step in. The hedgehog hugged Robyn tightly and grinned when he felt her wrap her arms around him in return. Everyone else smiled, relieved that the crazy, blood-craving vampire was gone. This seemed to interest Xsus, who came over to Robyn curiously after Sonic let her go. His eyes teemed with questions.

"Um… Robyn? Just what was that all about? First you were nice and pretty and then BAM! There was that crazy, evil lady who wanted to drink our blood," he said.

"The question I have for you is this: do you know about vampires?" she asked.

The boy nodded. Everyone gathered around as Robyn sighed. "Okay… well, my name is Robyn Prower. As we've established, I'm Tails's sister. We were separated seven years ago when Tails was five. I was captured by Dr. Eggman. He told me I was destined to be the wielder of the Starfire, a power from long ago."

She summoned a single purple lightning flame to show everyone. "It's said to be energy from the stars and fire from the depths of the planet. I'm not sure why it's purple, though."

"Because purple is an awesome color!" Xsus proclaimed.

Everyone laughed. Robyn extinguished the flame before continuing. "The doctor helped me awaken the Starfire, but only because he wanted to use it in some way. He ran many tests and kept me in a suspended state most of the time, so the years kind of flew by for me. It wasn't until about two years ago that I got to walk around more. The doctor had temporarily lost interest in the Starfire and was focusing on Aero."

Windy blinked. "Aero?"

"Aero the Hedgehog. Shadow's vampiric clone and who desires for me to be his immortal lover," Robyn explained.

Katherine paled. "Wait a minute… clone? As in… brother?"

"In a way," Robyn nodded.

Zap clapped Katherine on the back. "Congratulations, Katherine. You now have a third brother, and he's an evil, crazy vampire experiment."

Robyn blinked. "Brother?"

Katherine grimaced. "I'll explain later. Go on."

"Um… so Dr. Eggman gave me the task of aiding Aero. He was instantly attracted to me, and Eggman put the idea of turning me immortal in Aero's head. Something about how I would be his, eternally. Aero was interrupted by my friend, Kelly, however, so he couldn't complete the process. I am a vampire, yes, but I am NOT Aero's brainwashed lover. Thank Chaos," Robyn shuddered.

"So that lady was the vampire?" Xsus asked.

Robyn nodded. "Yes. I am not in control of my body when SHE wants to feed. She takes over my body easily and I turn into… that."

"_Isn't there a way to stop her?_" Xerius asked.

Robyn shook her head. "The only way I know of would be to kill her… but that in turn kills me."

Alustriel and some of the Dimension Jumpers gasped. Robyn looked down at the ground. "That's why when I managed to escape from Aero and Eggman, I didn't go back to Tails. I didn't want him to see what I had become, and I didn't want to put him in danger… but thanks to a certain someone, I'm reconsidering my choice."

She poked Sonic's chest. He grinned and poked her back. "I'm just that good."

Alustriel rolled her eyes. Robyn smiled and then turned to Katherine. "So who are you, exactly?"

"I am Katherine. My friends and I are, first off, from a different dimension. We are part of the Light Givers, a group who fights against the Followers of Darkness. Kinda self-explanatory," Katherine shrugged.

Robyn nodded. The black cat cleared her throat before continuing. "I came into this dimension for the first time over fifty years ago. I ended up on a space colony that I'm sure all of you are familiar with…"

Topaz's eyes widened. "Whoa…"

"Yes. The ARK. I met Maria and Gerald Robotnik. We became pretty close. I watched as Gerald struggled with his work for finding a cure to Maria's illness. Then he discovered that my DNA was compatible to the stuff that he was using. He used to some of my DNA to help create Shadow. So, in a way, Shadow is my little brother," Katherine explained.

"Wow… so that's what you meant earlier," Robyn mused.

"Yes. And now it sounds like I have another brother who's a vampiric lunatic," the black cat grimaced.

"Lunatic doesn't cover half of it," Robyn said dryly.

Alustriel's brown eyes were still filled with a few questions. "Zap said that Aero is your third brother, though… who's the second?"

"His name is Chaos," Sonic cut in, "although I haven't seen him in a while."

"He's around, don't worry," Windy said.

Katherine chuckled. "So… what brings you out here?"

"Alustriel, Topaz, and I were out here to discover what was causing the weird energy spike in the ruins. These two, however, have a different story to tell," Rouge said as she glanced at Sonic and Robyn.

"Oohh! Story? I love stories! Do tell!" Xsus exclaimed as he stared up at the two.

Robyn laughed. She already liked this kid. He reminded her of Kelly in some ways. "All right… well, it's not exactly flowers and cookie dough."

Sonic blinked. "Cooke dough?"

"It's the best thing in the entire galaxy!" Robyn retorted as her green eyes gleamed, "Mmm, cookie dough…"

"Robyn! The story?" Xsus asked.

"Err, right. Sorry. Um… well, basically Aero came after me when Sonic, Tails, Amy, Knuckles, and Shadow found me. Shadow challenged Aero as a distraction, and then he used Chaos Control to send me and Sonic out of the place," Robyn explained.

Xsus's eyes gleamed. "Did Shadow get any hits in!?"

"Sort of. Aero had him pinned down with a Chaos Spear, but Shadow used Chaos Control to warp away and Aero landed face-first into the ground. That was all I saw because Shadow used Chaos Control right after while Aero was distracted," Robyn said.

Katherine looked a bit disappointed. "So you didn't see who won the fight…?"

Robyn shook her head. "Shadow wanted Sonic to get me out of there ASAP."

"Hmm. Sounds like Shadow has a thing for your safety, if you ask me," Zap commented.

Sonic clenched his fists unknowingly. Robyn saw this and shook her head again. "I have known Shadow for a while. He's just a good friend."

Zap shrugged. "Suit yourself."

"_Now that you've figured out what's going on here, what are you going to do now?_" Xerius asked.

"I promised them if they helped us, we could help them. We have to figure out what happened to Shadow and the others," Rouge said.

"We'll help," Katherine said, "If my brother is in trouble, I have to be there."

She winked at Robyn. "Plus you interest me, since Shadow has taken such measures to protect you. I want to learn all about you and about Tails's past, if I can."

Alustriel nodded. "We'll do the best we can."

"Follow me, then," Topaz said as she waved a hand, "We can use what we came in."

**-XxXxX-**

"Kelly, are we almost there?" Amy asked as they turned down another hallway.

"I'm positive. Just through the door at the end," the echidna whispered.

The group followed the echidna to the end of the hallway. There was a huge steel door with a sign that said "Emergency Exit" above it. Tails sweatdropped as he examined the sign. It was a typical sign that could be found anywhere, like in hospitals or school buildings. It was a little faded, though, like it had been put through good use.

"I don't know, Kelly… something doesn't feel right here," he said.

"Well, there's only one way to find out," Knuckles said as he put his hand on the door handle and turned it.

The door opened. Everyone held their breath… and then sighed with relief when there was nothing there. "Phew…"

"See? Nothing to worry about," Kelly said as she stepped out of the base.

Suddenly, three Egg Hammers and one golden Egg Hammer **(A/N: Sonic Heroes, anyone?)** jumped out in front of her. The blue echidna jumped in surprise and nearly knocked Tails over in the process. The regular Egg Hammers took a swing at Kelly and knocked her into a tree. The tree shook violently and the ground shook as the tree's roots almost emerged from beneath the earth. Kelly hit the tree full-on and then hit the soil with a loud THUD. She twitched and barely groaned.

"KELLY!" Knuckles shouted.

He stepped forward to assist his cousin, but Tails pulled him back. "We need you in battle, Knuckles. I'll help Kelly."

The red echidna opened his mouth to argue, but then decided against it. He closed his mouth and nodded to Tails before joining Amy and Shadow in battle. While the three provided a distraction, the young kitsune flew over to the battered female echidna. She looked worse than she had when he'd met her. A giant lump was already forming from where her head had hit the tree. There were splinters in her dreadlocks and in the back of her shirt. Tails carefully sat her up and began plucking the splinters out, all the while keeping an eye on the battle.

"Chaos… SPEAR!" Shadow yelled as he flung the attack at one of the Egg Hammers.

It hit the Egg Hammer's left leg and caused a slight malfunction. The Egg Hammer crumpled to its knee and swung at Shadow aimlessly. The ebony hedgehog jumped into the air and threw several more Chaos Spears, putting the rest of the Egg Hammer out of commission. He landed and glanced around, noting that Amy and Knuckles were holding their own for the time being. Tails was still tending to Kelly, so Shadow decided to go for the golden Egg Hammer.

"Hiiiii-YAH!" Amy hollered as she jumped up and slammed her hammer down on the Egg Hammer's head.

The weapon caused a huge crack in the top of the robot, and the head exploded as Amy landed on the ground. It stood there for a minute until the pink hedgehog jumped up again and whacked it backwards with her hammer. It hit the ground with a loud THUD and shook the ground even more. Amy nearly lost her balance upon landing, but she managed to stay upright. She took a look around and noticed that Shadow was fighting the golden Egg Hammer by himself. Lifting her hammer, she charged in to assist him.

"Take this!" Knuckles roared as he gave the last Egg Hammer a ferocious uppercut to the chin.

It stumbled backwards and tripped over the two fallen Egg Hammers. It hit the ground with another THUD that temporarily stunned it. Knuckles climbed on top of the fallen Egg Hammers and then began to punch his way up to the head of the stunned robot, exposing lots of wires and electrical parts. When he got to the head, he punched right through its eyes and disabled it. There was a bunch of crackling noises from the exposed wiring, and Knuckles barely got away as the robot fully exploded, destroying the other two Egg Hammers in the process. He ran over to Tails, who was examining the lump on Kelly's head.

"That's quite a bump," he said as he knelt down.

Tails nodded. "I wish I had some ice for it."

Knuckles gently shook his cousin. "Kelly? Can you hear me?"

She stirred and opened her eyes. "Oww… Knuckles…?"

"I'm here. Are you all right?" the red echidna asked.

"My head hurts," she mumbled.

"You've got a nasty bump from the tree. Take it easy," Tails said as the female echidna tried to stand up.

"But… Shadow and Amy-" she started to say before she collapsed against the trunk.

"Sit, Kelly. I'm going back in," Knuckles said as he stood up and went for the golden Egg Hammer.

Shadow and Amy weren't having much luck. Shadow was firing off Chaos Spears and Amy was using her hammer, but the golden Egg Hammer was having none of it. It fired off rockets and missiles at the two, trying to distract them. It worked, because they turned their attacks on the projectiles in order to destroy them. This gave the golden Egg Hammer the chance to stomp on the ground and knock its opponents off-balance. Shadow and Amy landed on their backs and barely rolled away as the last few missiles hit the ground.

"That thing is faster than the others!" Amy panted as she got up.

Shadow stood up and dusted himself off. "It must have a power source providing it with extra energy!"

"Power source…" Knuckles closed his eyes and concentrated. "It's faint… but it's a Chaos Emerald!"

Shadow's eyes flashed as Amy gasped. "That would explain the gold color."

"We'll just have to keep fighting in order to spot its weakness so we can get the emerald away from it!" Amy exclaimed.

The other two nodded and followed her back into battle. Meanwhile, Tails had heard the conversation and was thinking quickly. An idea popped into his mind and he turned to Kelly. "Kelly, do you think you have enough strength to try something?"

"That depends," she replied.

"Would you be able to cast a ball of Arctic Fire at the Egg Hammer?" the kitsune asked.

The echidna slowly stood up and faced her hands together. A blue flame formed in between her hands. She closed her eyes and concentrated as the flame grew larger. When it was big enough, she opened her eyes. Her gaze focused on the golden Egg Hammer, who was about to squish the others like little bugs. With a sudden shriek of fury, she flung the attack at the robot. It stumbled backwards as the fire managed to break open a compartment in its chest. Sitting in said compartment, glowing like a star, was the yellow Chaos Emerald. Shadow was the first on his feet and he snatched the emerald. The golden color of the Egg Hammer began to fade until it was a normal robot again. Knuckles, Amy, and Shadow grinned before they attacked the robot and finished it off.

"Awesome!" Tails exclaimed as the others walked over.

"Way to go, Kelly!" Amy beamed.

The echidna smiled faintly before slumping against the tree. "Thanks…"

Amy gasped as her eyes fell on the lump on Kelly's head. "Ooh, that's a knot!"

"My head is killing me," Kelly mumbled.

Tails glanced at the Chaos Emerald. "Would the emerald be able to help at all? After all, you're part of Knuckles's clan. You should be able to use the emerald as well."

"It's worth a shot," Knuckles said as he took the emerald from Shadow.

He knelt down by his cousin again and held the emerald over her. Instinctively, she reached up and placed her hands over the emeralds as well. The gem began to glow brighter and a warm feeling washed over Kelly. The pain in her head gradually lessened to the point where she could barely feel it. Her cuts and bruises from before also faded away, so she didn't look completely battered. When she removed her hands, the emerald returned to its regular brightness. Knuckles tossed the emerald back to Shadow, who caught it even though his eyes were closed. Amy smiled as Kelly stood up, seeming better than before.

"How do you feel?" the hedgehog asked.

Kelly gingerly touched the back of her head and grinned when she found the size of the lump to be smaller. "Peachy."

"Good. Now we can get going," Shadow said impatiently.

Kelly gave the hedgehog a cold stare, but decided to keep her mouth shut. She pointed to the path. "We take this path out of the forest, and we should be a few miles from Mystic Ruins. That's where your workshop is, right?"

Tails nodded. Shadow tossed the emerald up and down. "Or I can use Chaos Control."

Kelly scowled. His attitude was starting to get on her nerves. "Fine. Take the easy way."

"Fine, take the easy way," Shadow mimicked as he glared at her.

"Stop it, Shadow!" Amy growled.

Shadow and Kelly turned away from each other. Shadow threw his hand up into the air and clutched the emerald. "Chaos… CONTROL!"

As the light enveloped them and they disappeared, a certain hedgehog stepped out from the trees. His black eyes glittered, and his lips were curved in a smirk. "Interesting… where the fox's workshop can be found… I shall find my beloved."

He started walking down the path, all the while clutching a certain purple emerald…

**-XxXxX-**

"Are we there yet?!" Charmy whined for the umpteenth time.

"NO!" everyone else shouted.

The bee pouted and flew along, sulking. It had been an hour and a half since the group had left Vanilla's for Tails's workshop. The morning had gone smoothly with deciding the course of action, but it was easier said than done. Charmy had immediately gotten bored with the walk and had been pestering everyone about it. Vector was close to snapping and even Espio was beginning to lose his patience. Cream had tried to entertain her friend to no avail. Blaze and Silver had tuned him out in the beginning, but it only worked for so long. As for Zoey and Sapphira, they'd shown much tolerance up until the last twenty minutes.

"Seriously, I've never met a kid who was that hyper and annoying," Sapphira muttered to Zoey.

Zoey shrugged. "Kids. What can you do?"

"Oh, flower. Pretty flower! Show your face and I'll sting you!" Charmy sang.

Zoey facepalmed. "I stand corrected."

It was quiet for the next several minutes, except for Charmy singing to himself. Then, finally, Cream pointed ahead to a white building. "There it is!"

"YAAAAAY!" Charmy shrieked as he flew forward.

"Thank goodness," Vector muttered.

The group walked over to the building. Cream knocked on the door. "Mr. Tails! Mr. Sonic! Is anyone home?"

No answer. Cream was about to knock again when a voice called out to her. "Cream? Is that you?"

She turned around and grinned. "Mr. Sonic!"

Sure enough, Sonic was walking up to the group with his trademark grin plastered on his face. Behind him were the Dimension Jumpers and Rouge. Silver's eyes lit up when they landed on Katherine. "Katherine!"

"Silver!" the cat grinned as the hedgehog came forward and hugged her.

"CREAM!" Xsus yelled happily as he ran over and tackled the rabbit.

Cream squealed as she returned his embrace. "Hi, Xsus!"

Zap, Windy, and Xerius nodded to Blaze, Espio, and Vector, who returned the greeting. Sonic grinned at everyone. "So what's going on here?"

"We brought these girls over so they could obtain some information from you," Espio said as he revealed Zoey and Sapphira standing behind him.

Zoey stepped forward. "Sonic the Hedgehog… it's a pleasure to meet you."

Sapphira stepped beside her. "The same goes for me."

Sonic frowned. He felt like he recognized the two foxes. "Have we met…?"

Zoey blinked. Sapphira shook her head. "No… we-"

She trailed off as two voices drifted into the clearing. Everyone turned as a blue fox and a grey fox came in from the trees, clearing arguing about something. "I told you it was this way!" the blue fox was saying.

The grey fox crossed her arms. "Well excuse me, Miss I-Can-Memorize-A-Map-In-Five-Seconds."

Sapphira gasped as the blue fox opened her mouth to retaliate. Zoey also gasped, causing the arguing foxes to turn in their direction. Their eyes widened as they came closer and got a good look at the other two foxes. Everyone else looked back and forth between the two duos. None of them dared to say anything. For several long seconds, it was completely silent. Even the wind and the clouds were still, as if waiting for the reaction.

Sapphira was the first one to speak. Her eyes watered as her voice cracked. "A…Alustriel…?"

Robyn's eyes widened even more, if it was possible. "Sapphira…?"

Zoey blinked. "Robyn…?'

Alustriel stared. "Zoey…?"

More silence. Then Sapphira burst into tears and tackled her two sisters. "Oh, it IS you! Robyn! Alustriel!"

Zoey immediately joined in with tears sliding down her face. "I can't… I can't believe it!"

Robyn wailed as she returned the hugs. "You're here…! You're actually here!"

Even Alustriel was extremely teary-eyed. "It's been so long…"

Sonic snapped his fingers as the girls broke apart. "Robyn! These… these are your other sisters! From the picture you showed me!"

More tears slid down her cheeks. "Yes… it's them…"

Everyone else looked slightly baffled. "Sonic… mind explaining?" Blaze asked.

Sonic opened his mouth to respond, but he was suddenly tackled. "WOAH!"

"SONNIKUUUUUU!" Amy yelled as she death-hugged him.

"A-Amy!" Sonic wheezed.

"Come on, Amy, give him some space," Knuckles said as he pried the pink hedgehog off of poor Sonic.

Amy pouted. Shadow rolled his eyes as he walked over. "Why am I not surprised?"

Sonic stood up and dusted himself off. "Nice to see you, Shadow."

"Is Shadow always like this?" a blue echidna asked as she appeared next to Knuckles.

Knuckles nodded. "Pretty much."

Robyn gasped. "Ke...Kelly?!"

The blue echidna turned. Her eyes widened and then watered as they recognized the grey fox. "Robyn-chan!"

She practically flew at the fox and ambushed her. "It's really you!"

Robyn started crying again. "Oh, Kelly! I've missed you!"

"I missed you more!" Kelly wailed.

Shadow tapped his foot. "I see how it is, Robyn."

Robyn pulled back from her echidna friend and smiled at Shadow. "Shadow…!"

She ran over and threw her arms around him. He blinked in surprise, and then slowly wrapped his arms around her in return. "You're okay…"

He felt her nod. "Sonic took care of me."

Everyone else looked more puzzled. "Sonic?" Silver asked.

Before he could answer, a shriek of joy was heard from the trees. "ROBYN!"

Robyn nearly collapsed upon seeing a familiar face. "Tails…!"

The two siblings tackled each other and started crying. Tails clung to Robyn tightly. "You're okay, big sis!"

"Oh, Tails… I've never been so worried in my life! You're not hurt, are you?" Robyn questioned as she looked at him.

He shook his head and smiled. "I'm okay."

Zoey stepped forward, eyes practically bugging out of her sockets. "T… Ta… Tails?!"

The kitsune looked up. His eyes fell on the red fox with grey highlights and blue eyes similar to his own. "Z… Zoey!?"

She shrieked and hugged him. "Oh, Tails!"

Alustriel and Sapphira also came forward, eyes brimming again. "Tails…!"

Tails pulled away from Zoey. His eyes landed on the blue fox and the purple fox, and they started watering again. He also started shaking from being overwhelmed. "A… Alussie? Sapphira?"

Sapphira also shrieked and hugged her brother. Alustriel waited and then grabbed the kitsune and swung him around. "My baby brother has really grown up…!"

Tears poured out of the kitsune's eyes as he hugged her. The other three foxes joined back in, all crying happily. The others were also a little teary-eyed upon watching the reunion. Sonic had the biggest grin on his muzzle as he watched his best friend get bombarded with his sisters' love. It seemed like forever ago when Tails had told him that he had siblings…

"Sonic?"

He blinked and found himself face-to-face with the Prowers. "Yes?"

Robyn stepped forward, smiling and teary-eyed. Sonic grinned at her. "You got your family back…"

She nodded and hugged him. "Yeah… and I can't thank you enough."

Sonic turned slightly red as he hugged her back. "Y-You're welcome, of course."

She pulled away and wiped her eyes. Then she cleared her throat. "I think it's time to explain everything so everyone is on the same page."

He grinned. "Let's do it."

**One, two, three… AWWWWWWWWWWWWW! Finally, after almost 3 years, the Prower siblings are back together! *victory dances*  
Robyn: *still teary-eyed* I can't believe it!  
Sonic: That's awesome, Robyn! Congratulations :D  
Robyn: Thanks, Sonic! *hugs her siblings again*  
Tails/Alustriel/Zoey/Sapphira: *huuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuug*  
Anyway… without the two author's notes, this chapter is 4,589 words! Holy crap. Yay for long chapters! :D Anyway, now that everyone has come together, the time is here for everything to be explained so everyone is on the same page. But what about Aero? What's he planning now that he knows where everyone is? Stay tuned!**


	14. Backstories

**Where was this inspiration when I started this story?! It's almost 3 years old! Anyway… senior year is still going nicely. I've applied for a job for moneyz. Life is good. Thanks goes to **_**Chaotic hedgehog, BlackSandHeart, The Forgery of Cow 71, Strife the Dark 152, and 56**__**th**__** Reg. Pvt Epps Hande!**_

_**Chaotic hedgehog:**_** Hehehe. He pops up in the disclaimer. I think I'll actually put him in the next chapter ^^**

_**BlackSandHeart:**_** Cute moments! And yes, Silver and Katherine. Hehe! Yes, Zap had the best comeback there. And Xsus and Kelly = bestest buddies! I'm glad you liked the family reunion; I've worked very hard to get to it!**

_**The Forgery of Cow 71:**_** 2469!? I'VE TRAVELED THROUGH TIME! Or the prediction my French class made came true… hehe.**

_**Strife the Dark 152:**_** I like long chapters :D thanks!  
Tails: I get 'em 'cuz I'm cute! :D  
You gotta admit, he's got the cute factor going on… xD**

_**56**__**th**__** Reg. Pvt Epps Hande:**_** *laughs as you and Levinski argue* Wow. Hehe. And long time no see! I don't mind that roleplay kept you busy; it does that to me sometimes.**

_**DISCLAIMER: **_**Nomad:**** *rides in on a skateboard… and falls off* WAAHH!  
****Robyn:**** *starts laughing* Okay, that was an epic FAIL!  
****Nomad:**** You know of all people that I have the worst balance! :(**  
**Strife:**** Are you okay, Nomad?  
****Chaos:**** That was quite a fall. *pulls Nomad to her feet*  
****Nomad:**** I think I'm okay… my wrist hurts though.**  
**Xsus:**** Poor Nomad!**  
**Sonic:**** *looks at the skateboard* There's something written on it!**  
**Katherine:**** It's the disclaimer! "Robyn, Aero, Zoey, Alustriel, Shawn, and Kelly belong to Nomad. Sapphira belongs to Nomad's sister. I, Xerius, Zap, Windy, and Xsus belong to BlackSandHeart. Strife belongs to Strife the Dark 152, Chaos belongs to Chaotic hedgehog, and everyone else belongs to SEGA." Who wrote this in glitter glue?  
****Kelly:**** *holds up a bottle* Guilty :D  
****Zoey:**** Anyway. *steals the skateboard and rides off***  
**Nomad:**** NOT FAIR!**  
**Robyn:**** Let's go! And don't forget to view the chapter in ¾ mode!**

Chapter Thirteen

Robyn looked around at everyone. Anxiety nearly settled in the pit of her stomach, but she pushed the feeling aside and cleared her throat. "Can everyone hear me?"

She received several nods and vocal agreements. "All right… well, my name is Robyn, and I am one of the four sisters of the Prower family."

She gestured to her sisters, who were standing beside her. "Zoey, Alustriel, and Sapphira are the other sisters…"

She glanced at Sonic, who smiled encouragingly at her, and then at Shadow, who nodded for her to continue. "Alustriel and Zoey are the oldest of us five, followed by me and Sapphira, and finally Tails. Alustriel and Zoey were eight and Sapphira and I were five when Tails was born. Yes, we were a large family, but we were happy. But… everything changed when Tails turned two… our dad started staying out late and our mom wasn't happy anymore…"

She swallowed. "Not long after that, there was a terrible storm. We were all split up. I ended up with Tails, far away from home and far away from any visible civilization. I was terrified, and Tails was too young to understand what was going on. For a while, we only had bushes for shelter and berries for food as we moved around. We managed to find an abandoned cottage near the edge of the forest. Apotos was just beyond the hills. Therefore, I was able to gather food and supplies from the forest and from the town. I did the best that I could for Tails, and we managed to survive."

Her face fell a little and her tone changed. "Then came the day that turned out to be the worst day of my life. I woke up feeling a little strange, like something had been injected into my bloodstream. Tails convinced me to stay in bed while he went to fetch some more food and some medicine. While he was gone… Dr. Eggman came."

There were several gasps. Robyn took a deep breath. "He knew how I was feeling… he had been watching us for several days. He said I was destined to wield a great power, and that power was beginning to awaken within me. He had come to take me away so he could study the power for his own purposes. Something told me that I was not to trust him, so I refused. He got quite angry with me, and sent a few robots out to capture me. I reacted, and the power was fully awakened… the Starfire."

She summoned the purple lightning fire, receiving several more gasps in the process. "It's very ancient, almost as ancient as the gods themselves… it's said to be the energy of the stars and the fire from the depths of the planet…"

She extinguished it before continuing. "Anyway… instinctively, I raised my hands to shield myself and the Starfire came bursting out, blowing the robots up. I was very surprised, and Dr. Eggman seemed pleased. He asked me again to come with him. I refused again. He sent more robots out. The Starfire blew them up. A few repeats later, I realized what he was doing: he was baiting me into using the power so he could study it. When he asked me again, I refused. He sent more robots out and was surprised when I didn't do anything. I pleaded with him to go away. He got angry again and fired some sort of beam at me."

Her eyes started to water. "I passed out… the next time I woke up was a week later, in the doctor's base with no sign of Tails. The doctor coldly informed me that I would never see my brother again."

Sonic clenched his fists, hating Eggman even more for breaking the siblings apart. The rest of the group shared his anger with murmurs and expressions of disgust. Robyn wiped her eyes. "That was enough to break me. I spent almost a year in a room by myself, crying my heart out. If the doctor or any of his robots came near me, I threatened to blow them up with the Starfire. However, that changed one day when Eggman was beat by Sonic the Hedgehog… and Tails alongside him."

A smile slowly curled her lips. "You couldn't imagine how overjoyed I was to see that he was alive and being taken care of. I was suddenly ignited with the desire to break free and be with my brother, a desire I had thought long dead. Of course, Eggman took great measures to prevent me from doing so… he put me in a stasis tube for various amounts of time and he studied the Starfire as much as he could. When he brought me out, he told me bits and pieces of what he had discovered, and he taught me how to control it and how to attack with it. He also discovered the seven Starfire Diamonds, and he crafted a locket to place them in."

She took her locket off and held it up to show everyone. It was silver, heart-shaped, and had seven diamond-shaped cuts in it. Two of them were filled; one was a black diamond and the other was a white diamond. "The black and white diamonds always stay in the locket. They are the more powerful gems, according to Eggman. The others are scattered once they come together and are used."

"Kind of like the Chaos Emeralds!" Knuckles called out.

Robyn nodded. "Yes. Just like the Chaos Emeralds. So, in a way… I owe the doctor a lot. As much as it pains me to think that."

She scowled. Blaze raised her hand. "What happened after that?"

"A few years passed. I was in a stasis tube most of the time, so the years flew by. It wasn't until two years ago that I got to walk around more. The doctor wanted to perfect my Starfire abilities and he was focusing on another project. When Shadow was presumed dead, the doctor did some further research on his grandfather's files and discovered another successful experiment: Aero the Hedgehog, the vampire hedgehog," Robyn said as her ears lowered.

There were several collective gasps and shrieks of "VAMPIRE?!" from the group. Robyn held a hand up for silence. "Yes. Professor Gerald was experimenting with the idea of vampires. I'm not sure how he did it, but he managed to complete Aero. Anyway, Eggman woke him up and decided to keep him quiet for the time being. He assigned me to the task of aiding Aero any way I could. He became immediately attracted to me for some reason, but he came at me so fast that I refused. Plus he repulsed me in some ways. Aero was quite angry… until the doctor suggested that he turn me into his immortal lover."

Almost everyone's eyes were wide at this point. Robyn sighed and braced herself. "Aero tried it. He bit me and turned me into a vampire."

More combined gasps. Some people even went on the defensive in case Robyn started attacking them. The fox held up a hand again. "Yes, I am a vampire. But if Aero had turned me into his brainwashed immortal lover, do you think I'd be standing here calmly explaining all of this?"

Murmurs. "She has a point," Espio called out.

"So something happened?" Silver asked.

Robyn nodded and gestured to Kelly, who was standing next to her. "Kelly the Echidna. Cousin of Knuckles and one of the sweetest kids I've ever met. The reason I'm not trying to kill you all."

The echidna's eyes shined with appreciation as she beamed. Robyn smiled. "She came in and got so freaked out that she attacked Aero. It was enough to break his concentration and he tore away from me to fight her off. While they were fighting, I was fighting the venom. I knew I was screwed if I let it take over. Plus Kelly screamed at me to think of Tails. The venom did spread, but I managed to take control of it… for the most part."

"What do you mean, 'for the most part'?" Vector asked.

"The vampire side of me can take over at any time. Her name is Emily, and she's crazy. Absolutely bonkers. She will not hesitate to attack," Robyn explained.

"How do we stop her?" Blaze asked.

Robyn bit her lip. "I don't know… because if you kill her, you kill me."

The biggest collective gasp ever. Robyn cleared her throat. "Anyway… after fighting the venom, I passed out. I woke up a few days later with Kelly smiling down at me. When I realized that I didn't want to attack her, I was overjoyed. I didn't see much of Aero or the doctor for a few days. Mainly because Kelly refused to let them near me. And then… one day… we were separated while Eggman was fighting Sonic. Unfortunately, I ended up back with the doctor and Aero. Aero continued to pursue me while Eggman ranted about losing all the time."

Sonic gave a thumbs-up and several people chuckled. Amy grinned and hugged the hedgehog tightly. "Of course he would rant, because my Sonikku is the best!"

"Amy! Can't breathe!" Sonic wheezed.

The pink hedgehog loosened her grip, but didn't let him go. Robyn sweatdropped. "Anyway… after one of the major battles, I managed to escape. I returned to the cottage near Apotos and hid there, occasionally going into town for food. Of course, there were the times where my vampire emerged and I went into the forest to hunt. The citizens of Apotos heard the noises at night and began making up stories about the forest being haunted. It was fine by me, because no one dared to enter the forest. At the same time, though, it was very lonely."

She shrugged. "That's what I did for two years, until I found Eggman attacking Sonic and Tails in the town square."

"It was amazing," Sonic cut in, "Eggman had me in the grip of his robot hand and Tails unconscious on the ground and then BAM! The Starfire came out of nowhere and blew the robot up. Then Robyn scared Eggman away, healed Tails, and vanished. It spiked my curiosity."

Robyn blushed. "It wasn't that amazing. I just saved my brother and the person who's been taking care of him."

"Well, I think it was amazing," Tails said as he came up and hugged his sister.

Sonic nodded and grinned. Amy looked at the genuine smile on his face and then looked at Robyn, who was smiling back. A scowl crossed the pink hedgehog's muzzle and she released her hero, waiting to see if he noticed. When he didn't, she crossed her arms and turned away. _He never smiles at me like that… what does __she__ have that I don't…? No matter, Sonikku is MINE! No blood-sucking, power-wielding fox is gonna change that!_

"So… yeah. That's my story. I'm gonna let Alustriel speak now," Robyn said as she moved to stand next to Zoey and Sapphira.

The blue fox walked up and stood in front of everyone. They could feel the authority emanating from her; this sister was a leader, and a powerful one at that. "Thanks, Robyn. Well, my name is Alustriel, and I am one of the two eldest sisters."

She rubbed her hands together. "When my family and I were split up by the storm, I ended up in a small village in the middle of a desert. There were only a handful of people living there, so when I say small, I MEAN small. They were humans, so naturally they were frightened at the sight of me. However, one human took pity on me and somehow convinced the others to let me live. Her name was Violet, and she became a mother figure to me. She was very wise and a master at fighting, so she decided to teach me everything that she knew. The training was rigorous and time-demanding, but I committed to it. When I turned sixteen, five years later, GUN came to the village to recruit new members. I was discovered, and they were about to kill me when Violet told them that I had good intentions. The Commander decided to test my abilities and sent out a few agents. It was tough, but I disarmed them and knocked a few of them unconscious."

Rouge grinned at her friend. Alustriel smiled back before continuing. "That was one of the few times that I've seen the Commander impressed. He offered me a spot on the recruitment team, and I accepted. It was difficult to leave Violet, but she told me that she was proud of me and she would always be with me in spirit. So I left the village and came to GUN HQ to begin training. I quickly rose to the top of the recruits because of Violet's training, and the Commander put me in charge of them when I turned eighteen. That's when I met Rouge and Topaz. They'd heard of the 'impressive rookie', as I was called, and they wanted to meet me. Rouge eventually put a recommendation in, and the Commander asked if I wanted to become an official agent. I accepted, and Rouge became my mentor. Topaz also assisted with the task. We went on many missions and became an impressive team."

She paused. Her expression changed to one of… sadness? "One day, I received a letter from Violet. She said she had something to give me. Something very important. I met with her in the dead of night, and she gave me a Chaos Emerald. She wasn't sure what it was, but she knew that it was worth something and she didn't want it falling into the wrong hands. Just as she was about to hand it over… a bullet came out of nowhere and hit her."

She clenched her fists. "She hit the ground and was gone instantly. The emerald was still in her hand. I took it and found myself surrounded by people in cloaks. The tallest one, their leader, came forward and demanded the emerald. I remembered what Violet said and I refused. The emerald glowed in my hand and I felt… different. I took on the group… and I… killed them. All of them."

There were several gasps. Alustriel swallowed. "Basically, my old self died with Violet. My new self was born with the murder of that group. I became cold-hearted, determined, and all-business, according to my co-workers. Rouge and Topaz were the only ones who knew what happened; they found me that night refusing to cry. We took the emerald back to HG, and life went on. By this time, I knew that Tails was with Sonic. I refused to go back to my old life, though, so I let Tails be. I asked Rouge and Topaz to not say anything about me if they ran into the Sonic gang. Now, however… things have obviously changed."

She relaxed. "That's my story. Zoey, Sapphira, if you please."

She moved to stand next to Robyn while the remaining two sisters stepped up. Zoey glanced back at Alustriel before turning back to the crowd. "Well. Depressing and more depressing. Don't worry, ladies and gents, our story isn't too terrible. I'm Zoey, the other eldest, and Sapphira here is the other middle child."

Sapphira rolled her eyes. "We ended up with each other after the storm. We were worried for our family, of course, but we were relieved to be alive. I was also glad to have one of my older siblings taking care of me. Anyway, we ended up on the other side of the world, by a great lake in a jungle. It was a picture-perfect view, and we were happy to live there. As time went on, however, we discovered that it was also very boring. Nothing ever happened there."

Zoey grinned. "One day, I told Sapphira to pack up what we had because we decided to search for a new place to live and maybe find our family. I had met a guy who was a traveler and he had agreed to take us with him. We moved around quite a bit before ending up in Apotos. Sapphira and I felt content there, so we paid the guy and he went on without us."

"The people were wary of us at first, but we eventually obtained their trust and became welcomed citizens," Sapphira explained. "However, we eventually ran into some trouble. I had earned quite a bit of money for doing things around town and one day, most of it was gone. I didn't think of who it could be until I saw Zoey out one day with bags of various items. Items that looked expensive. I confronted her, because it made no sense to me how she could've gotten them."

Zoey chuckled. "It was ridiculous, the way she came at me in the middle of the town square. I tried to explain that I had my own ways of making money, but she wouldn't listen to me. She threw the first slap and insult. It turned into a full-out cat fight."

Some people laughed. Sapphira cracked a smile. "I was kicking her butt until a voice called out for us to stop. It was…"

Both foxes pointed at Alustriel. "ALUSSIE!"

"And for the record, you were NOT kicking my butt," Zoey retorted.

Alustriel facepalmed. "Don't start that again. Point is, I was in town for something else and I saw them fighting. It was certainly an interesting way to meet again."

Zoey chuckled. "We were hoping that Robyn and or Tails would be with her, but nope."

"We also hoped to keep in touch with Aluss once we found she was a government agent. But it didn't happen," Sapphira said as she threw a glare at Alustriel.

The blue fox shrugged. "Not my fault."

"Anyway… nothing really happened until we found out where Tails was. Then we began tracking him down. It took us forever, but we've finally done it," Zoey smiled.

Tails grinned at his siblings. Sapphira shrugged. "That's pretty much it."

"Kelly?" Robyn asked.

The blue echidna nodded and took Zoey and Sapphira's place after the two foxes moved to stand next to the others. "Hiya! I'm Kelly the Echidna. I want to say that we saved the best for last, but my story is also depressing."

Knuckles crossed his arms. Kelly took a deep breath. "I am the cousin of Knuckles. I grew up on Angel Island with Knux and my two brothers, Danny and Shawn. We were a happy bunch… until one day when I was four. We were called to the ancient shrine of our ancestors. Shawn said something about a power hidden in there. He wanted to obtain it for the future. We went to the very depths to find it. When we found it, Shawn stepped forward to claim it."

Her tone changed. "The building began crumbling… Knuckles and Danny ran for it, but something held me there. The Arctic Fire got close to Shawn, and then suddenly flew backwards. A voice said that Shawn wasn't worthy of wielding the power. It… It came to me. It deemed me worthy and took over my body. When it was done, Shawn looked at me with sudden hatred. He abruptly attacked me, screaming about how I always took things from him. I defended myself with the Arctic Fire and then ran. I found Knuckles and Danny and explained what happened. They immediately went on the defensive and protected me. We moved around the island until we could figure out how to calm Shawn done. But… a week after the incident happened…"

Her eyes started to water. "Shawn found us, mad beyond recognition. Nothing we said would get through to him. Danny and Knuckles went in front of me to protect me… and… Shawn… he killed Danny in cold blood…"

Everyone's eyes widened. Kelly was crying now. "I just s-stood there as my f-favorite brother died in front of m-me… Knuckles was e-enraged and he took Shawn on… I fell t-to my knees and got c-caked in my brother's blood... and I c-cried to the heavens…"

Robyn came forward and held the echidna close. Kelly cried on the bottom of Robyn's blouse and soaked it. Everyone else was either teary-eyed, mad, or hiding their emotions. Knuckles was trying not to punch something as the memories flooded his mind. He had never seen Kelly so broken before as she sobbed in Danny's blood. She had only been four; she never deserved to see something like that. And what happened after… he tried not to think about it.

When Kelly had cried herself out, she rubbed her eyes. "Sorry, everyone… I was only four, but that scene has haunted me since then. But… that wasn't the worst of it. Shawn beat Knuckles into unconsciousness and then turned to me. He beat me and screamed at me, making it out to be my fault. At that point, I just wanted to die. But Shawn was determined to make me endure even more suffering. For two miserable years, he abused me and… and… had his friends over and they all raped me..."

More gasps and several shrieks of "WHAT!?" from the group. Kelly clung to Robyn even more. "He did anything he could to cause me pain… and then… Dr. Eggman came. He took us on as servants, but Shawn got on his good side and never had to do anything. I got slammed with everything, on top of Shawn's abuse. It got even worse when Aero came along… he went along with it, especially in the sexual abuse department…"

Robyn's dark green eyes flashed angrily. Kelly took another a deep breath. "Despite all of that… there was one glimmer of sanity and love. It was Robyn, here. She became my best friend, an older sister slash mother figure. She stuck up for me and got Aero to leave me alone. She stayed with me as much as she could and made sure that Aero and Shawn didn't try anything funny while she was around. Eventually, the abuse was less and less. Shawn started ignoring me."

The echidna shrugged a bit. "When Robyn and I were separated, it hurt almost as much as it did when Dan died. But I kept my chin up and searched for her. When I found her with Eggman, I kept my distance. Then, when she was gone… I don't know why, but I still kept an eye on the doctor and my brother."

She glanced at Tails. "That's how I knew where you, Shadow, Knuckles, and Amy were. I saw Aero carrying you guys in."

"You were the one who prevented Aero from turning Robyn into his lover," Katherine called out.

Kelly nodded. "I used the Arctic Fire on his unsuspecting back. I took a lesson from Robyn in that regard and it saved her. Sure, getting pounded by Aero hurt, but I would do it all over again if I had to."

Robyn smiled appreciatively and hugged the echidna. "Thanks, Kels…"

"So you must have managed to knock Aero out or something. Otherwise he would've gone back to Robyn after finishing you off," Zap said.

Kelly giggled. "I knocked him down a few flight of stairs and he crashed into a really hard surface. Eggman had to put him in a stasis tube to let him heal up from that. And I would do THAT again if I could."

A few people chuckled. Kelly nodded. "So that's me. I'm done."

The Prower siblings and Kelly came into the crowd and immediately got pulled in several different directions. Kelly ended up with Xsus, Charmy, and Cream. Robyn was taken by Sonic, Shadow, Tails, and Katherine (Amy kept a very close eye on Robyn and Sonic from her group). Alustriel was brought into a conversation with Zap, Windy, and Xerius. Zoey talked to Silver, Blaze, Knuckles, and Vector. Sapphira was stuck with Rouge, Espio, and Amy.

Xsus held his hand out to Kelly. "Hi! I'm Xsus. I gotta ask ya something."

Kelly shook his hand. "Yes?"

"Do you like ice cream!?" the young cat asked excitedly.

Kelly's eyes lit up. "Yes!"

Xsus grinned and hugged the echidna. "I liked ya before; now I really like ya! We'll be best friends, I know it!"

Cream laughed at the surprised look on Kelly's face. "Xsus, I think you're scaring her."

"Oops." Xsus released his new friend and scratched the back of his head. "Sorry about that."

"No worries," Kelly said as she gave the cat a grin, "I like your energy."

"That's not I have! Cream, do you have a water bottle?" Xsus asked.

The rabbit shook her head. Charmy reached into his vest and pulled one out. "I have one, Xsus! Here."

He gave the bottle to Xsus, who uncapped it and threw the lid off to the side. He opened his free hand and concentrated. Kelly gasped as the water emerged from the bottle and swirled above Xsus's palm. "Wow! You can control water!?"

"Yup!" Xsus grinned as he made the water move about Kelly's head.

"That's so cool!" the echidna breathed as she watched the water dance above her.

Xsus moved his hand to the bottle and the water back in. Kelly cupped her hands together and summoned a blue flame. "This is the Arctic Fire. Kind of contradiction when you think about it, seeing as 'arctic' means cold and 'fire' means hot."

"Wow!" Charmy exclaimed.

"So opposites come together to make that?" Cream asked.

Kelly shrugged. "I'm not sure how it was done, but that's one way of putting it."

Meanwhile, Sapphira was talking to Rouge, Espio, and Amu. Well, moreso Rouge and Espio; Amy seemed to be paying more attention to Sonic than to the conversation going on around her. The pink hedgehog scowled as Robyn laughed and touched Sonic's arm. He grinned at her and said something that made her laugh again. _Who does she think she is, flirting with MY Sonikku right in front of me? Ooh, I outta go over there and-_

"AMY!" Rouge yelled in her ear.

Amy squeaked and glared at the bat. "That was my ear!"

"If you were here on the planet instead of in the clouds, I wouldn't have to yell!" Rouge said crossly.

"Amy, why don't you go check on the kids?" Espio suggested.

The pink hedgehog glared at Rouge again before walking off. Sapphira raised an eyebrow at the two remaining. "What was that about?"

"She's obsessed with Sonic. She probably doesn't like the fact that Robyn and Sonic are over there practically flirting," Rouge said.

Sapphira glanced over at her sister. Robyn's dark green eyes were lit with a happiness that the purple fox had never seen before. The same light seemed to be coming from Sonic's eyes as well. "They do seem pretty relaxed with each other."

"Knowing Amy, she's not going to like that one bit," Espio said.

"Is she with Sonic?" Sapphira asked with obvious confusion.

"No. As much as she claims it to be true, they aren't together. Sonic doesn't like Amy that way. She intimidates him with her aggressiveness," Rouge explained.

"Noted. She does seem to be the fan-girl type," Sapphira said as she glanced over at Amy.

"That's partly why Sonic has never had a girlfriend. Amy always scares them off or makes them believe that she and Sonic are together," Rouge said.

Sapphira looked back at the bat. "What's the other reason?"

Espio shrugged. "Most girls can't keep up with him."

The remark brought a chuckle out of Sapphira's mouth. "Understandable."

A few feet away, Zoey heard Sapphira chuckle and her ears pricked. Then she shrugged and turned back to Silver, Blaze, Knuckles, and Vector. "So, Blaze… you have control over fire? That's awesome!"

The purple feline nodded and held her hand out. It caught on fire, making the others take a step back. "I will admit, I've always thought of it as a curse. I couldn't make friends as a child because everyone thought that I was a freak. But then Silver came along… he was teased because of his psychic abilities, and we bonded over our mistreatment."

Zoey stared at Silver. "You have psychic abilities?!"

Silver grinned and faced his palm towards her. The blue circle on his glove glowed and Zoey suddenly found herself off of the ground. "WHOA!"

"I love doing that to people," Silver laughed as he flew her around.

Alustriel watched from her group. "Amazing… psychokinesis! He's a psychokinetic!"

Zap nodded. "One of the various powers found in this group."

"We have control over fire from Blaze, control over water from Xsus, control over lightning from Zap, and control over wind from myself," Windy said.

Alustriel nodded. "Sonic can run at the speed of sound, Tails is a flying genius, Knuckles can glide and punch his way through stuff, Shadow has the power of Chaos…"

"Amy can summon a hammer out of nowhere, Espio is a ninja, Vector can breathe fire, Cream uses Cheese, Katherine uses a sword," Zap counted off.

"Xerius is a warrior of his own league," Windy said as she nudged the brown cat.

Xerius nodded. _"It appears that Robyn and Kelly have powers as well, and Alustriel is a master agent._"

Alustriel raised an eyebrow at his telepathy. "How… how do you do that?"

Xerius grimaced. Zap shook his head. "He doesn't like to talk about it."

Alustriel nodded. "Understandable… we all have our secrets."

She looked up at the sky. She thought of Violet and how proud she would be today. A tear slid down from the corner of her eye. "She taught me that much, among other things…"

Zap, Windy, and Xerius looked at her. The fox continued to stare upward until she chuckled and closed her eyes. "It's amazing how someone can leave a massive impact on your life and you don't realize it until they're gone."

She opened her eyes and leveled her gaze with the cats. "Don't you agree?"

They nodded. Zap smiled a little. "So Violet was the person for you?"

"Yes… she was," Alustriel said.

Robyn glanced at her sisters before turning back to Sonic, Tails, Katherine, and Shadow. "Seems like everyone is getting along just fine."

"See? I told you not to worry!" Sonic said with a grin.

Robyn smiled. "Yes. Thanks, Sonic."

Katherine chuckled. "You two are already like two peas in a pod!"

Sonic and Robyn glanced at each other and blushed. Shadow was a little aggravated by this, but he managed to hide it by pulling Robyn into a one-side hug. "You're forgetting that I've know her longer."

Sonic stared at Shadow somewhat irritably while Robyn's face darkened more. Katherine noticed and she raised an eyebrow. "Something wrong, Sonic?"

"Nothing," he mumbled.

Shadow opened his mouth to say something, but a new voice cut into the conversation. "It's obvious that something is wrong with Sonic."

The voice was dark and brought chills down Robyn's spine. It also silenced the other on-going conversations. Everyone turned as a black and green hedgehog emerged from the forest with a smirk on his face. Sonic growled and clenched his fists. "Aero!"

"Aero?!" a lot of people yelped.

The black hedgehog bowed mockingly. "Hello, everyone."

"What do you mean, something is obviously wrong with Sonic?" Katherine demanded.

Aero chuckled. Then he pointed at Sonic. "It's obvious that he's in love with Robyn!"

**DUN DUN DUNNNN. Sonic's gonna be in a tight spot now, as well as Robyn.  
****Sonic/Robyn:**** Thanks a lot! D:  
So then, a lot of back story stuff this chapter and then some filler stuff. Next chapter will be really good; I can promise you that! Oh, and this chapter was 5,268 words without the author notes. Leave a review and I'll see you guys later! :D**


	15. Battle

**Hiiiiiiiiiiii again! I'm sorry this chapter took a while. I meant to have it done over the Thanksgiving break, buuut it didn't happen. No worries, though, it is HERE! First, the reviews. :D**

_**Strife the Dark 152: **_**Don't worry, Strife will be in the chapter :D and yeah. Shawn and Aero are douchebags.  
Kelly: Yay! I'm awesome! :D  
Shawn: Humph.  
Kelly: You're just jealous! Lame-o!  
Shawn: *glares***

_**BlackSandHeart:**_** Poor Xsus xD and yes. That is Aero's job: to ruin every moment. *also smirks about Amy*  
Kelly: I'll take a hug! *accepts the hug*  
Alustriel: …Eh, why not? *also accepts the hug*  
Yay! At least I got that part right. I'll keep that in mind.**

_**The Forgery of Cow 71:**_** Hehehe, sorry. Cliffhangers are good when you're the one writing them. If not, then they suck. So I know how you feel xD**

_**Chaotic hedgehog:**_** "CLIFFY! BWAHAHA!" –SandHeart xD  
Aero: Yes. Yes I do.  
And you'll have to wait and see ;)**

_**Cor Amicus (x2):**_** I'm glad you enjoyed the battle scene in Chapter 12! And I smiled when the siblings reunited, too. I was like "FINALLY!" Yeah, Kelly's story made me cry the most. I try to limit depressing backstories, which is why I gave Zoey and Sapphira a happier story. Yeah, ENDING! I had fun writing that last sentence. **

_**Disclaimer: **_**Nomad:**** *comes in bouncing around***  
**Sonic:**** Oh Lord. Who gave Nomad sugar?**  
**Xsus:**** Guilty :D**  
**Robyn:**** *sighs* Xsus, you know Nomad on sugar is NEVER a good thing for any of us!**  
**Nomad:**** I'm gonna pair Sonic up with Aero now! Just like I said I would! BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!**  
**Sonic:**** o_O NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!**  
**Chaos/Strife:**** Oh wow…**  
**Katherine/Xerius/Windy/Zap:**** *eyes widen in horror***  
**Alustriel:**** You're effed, Blue.**  
**Sonic:**** *runs for his life***  
**Kelly:**** I guess I have to read the disclaimer for Nomad. "Robyn, Aero, Zoey, Alustriel, Shawn, and myself belong to Nomad. Sapphira belongs to Nomad's sister. Katherine, Xerius, Zap, Windy, and Xsus belong to BlackSandHeart. Strife belongs to Strife the Dark 152, Chaos belongs to Chaotic hedgehog, and everyone else belongs to SEGA."**  
**Zoey:**** Someone better go find Sonic while I restrain Nomad…**

Chapter Fourteen

Silence. The group was so quiet that one could hear a pin drop. Or, in the case, one could hear a leaf fall from a tree. Everyone stared at Sonic and Robyn. Most of the reactions were one of shock; Shadow and Amy looked angry and Aero was smirking triumphantly. Sonic looked at Robyn and found her dark green eyes reflecting the same concern that he felt. He dared to not look at anyone else, especially Amy. Instead, he put a comforting hand on Robyn's tense shoulder and glared at Aero. Robyn relaxed a little, but her fur was still a tad bit fluffed up.

"Don't be ridiculous," Sonic snapped.

"Sonic and I are just friends," Robyn piped up.

"Oh? Is that so?" Aero asked mockingly.

He walked towards Sonic and put an arm around the blue hedgehog's shoulders. The vampire crossed one leg over the other and examined his free hand idly. "I've seen how you look at her. A sight for sore eyes, isn't she? The most beautiful creature _I've_ ever seen, that's for sure."

"Get off," Sonic growled as he shoved Aero away from him.

The vampire smirked. "You can deny it all you want, Sonic. I can taste the resistance to accept the fact that you want her. It's practically oozing off of you."

"Shut up!" Amy yelled as she came up next to Sonic and wrapped her arms around his torso again. "MY Sonikku wants nothing to do with her! I am his girlfriend, so you can take that blood-sucking, creepy bitch back to wherever Dr. Eggman released you from!"

There were multiple gasps. Out of everyone, Tails was the most pissed off. He stormed up to Amy, ripped her off of Sonic, and punched her in the face. Amy screamed as she fell to the ground. She put a hand to her face, which felt like it was on fire. Tears poured out of her eyes at the pain, but she managed to glare at the kitsune. "What was that for?!"

"THAT'S MY SISTER YOUR'RE TALKING ABOUT!" Tails screamed at her. "AND IF YOU THINK I'M GONNA LET AERO TAKE HER AWAY, THEN YOU ARE DUMBER THAN YOU _LOOK_!"

Amy gasped. "W-Wha… I am NOT dumb! Right, Sonikku?"

"Amy, ENOUGH with the nicknames!" Sonic yelled.

The pink hedgehog's eyes widened as her hero pulled her up and grabbed her by her shoulders, forcing her to look at him. "S… Son-"

"Shut up. Listen to me very closely, Amy. I. Do not. Love you," Sonic said slowly and clearly.

Amy stared at him. "Wh… What are you trying to say…?"

Sonic facepalmed. Then he took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, stepping away from her in the process. "Look, Amy. I only like you as a friend. And even then, sometimes that is pushing the limit. You glomp me, you scream my name, you talk about marriage and kids when we're only teenagers, you scare off potential teammates, you use people in your attempts to get me to like you… you even call yourself my girlfriend when I've never said anything to you regarding that subject! I can't take it anymore!"

Amy stood there, mouth wide-open and eyes bugging out of her skull. "B… But… you've saved me countless times!"

"Amy, I save everyone. It's what I do," Sonic sighed exasperatedly.

The pink hedgehog couldn't respond. Tears were sliding down her face. Sonic felt bad for making her cry, but he took another deep breath. She needed to hear what he had to say. "I'm not saying this to be mean to you, Ames. I'm saying this so that you'll get it through your head and grow up a bit. You'll find the right guy eventually… it's just not me though."

That was it. Amy started bawling and ran right past him. She shoved Robyn's shoulder with her own and knocked the grey fox off balance on her way before disappearing into the trees. Everyone watched and listened until she was no longer noticeable and her cries had faded away. The common expression was one of being uncomfortable. Robyn was sitting on the ground biting her lip and Tails was still severely ticked. Cream looked like she wanted to go after her friend, but something kept her rooted to the spot. Memories of comforting Amy many times over flooded her mind and she frowned.

_I guess I was wrong… Mr. Sonic doesn't love Amy,_ she thought as she looked at Sonic, who was helping Robyn to her feet.

Aero shook his head. "Pity, Sonic. She's a lovely girl. It's not like you can have Robyn anyway."

Uncomfortable expressions turned into glares. Shadow growled. "Will you shut up?!"

"Whatever could be the matter, Shadow?" Aero asked mockingly. "Afraid of some competition for Robyn's heart?"

Rouge stared at Shadow. "Wait a minute… is he saying you love her too?!"

"I'm just looking out for her," Shadow said crossly as he glared at Aero.

"I can taste the denial~!" Aero sang as he smirked at his 'brother'.

"CHAOS SPEAR!" Shadow yelled.

Golden spears of Chaos energy flew out from Shadow's hand and headed towards Aero. The vampire smirked again and held his hand out. The others stood dumbfounded as the shadows of the surrounding trees suddenly sprang up and wrapped themselves around the spears. When they dispersed, the spears were gone. Out of everyone, Aero enjoyed Shadow's expression the most. The hedgehog looked like he had swallowed a large chilidog against his own will.

"WHAT THE FU-" Shadow was cut off as Katherine kicked him. Her sky-blue eyes were narrowed as he glared at her. Sonic stifled a chuckle; Katherine hated it when someone swore. She had yelled at Shadow and Knuckles for it many times before.

"I was going to say 'fudge pop'," Shadow growled.

Katherine rolled her eyes. "Sure you were."

Aero watched with blatant amusement. "So. You must be Katherine."

The black and red cat turned her cold gaze over to him. "Aero."

"Wait a minute, how do you know Katherine?!" Shadow demanded. "You were hardly around us at all on the ARK!"

The vampire rolled his eyes. "The Professor informed me. He had to explain why he was away so much. Plus I had Maria tell me many stories."

Katherine gasped. "Maria…!?"

"Yes… Maria. Dear, sweet Maria. She was just as much of a companion to me as she was to you and our brothers. I can say, however, that I was surprised when Chaos captured her heart. Nonetheless, I loved her dearly," Aero said.

Shadow scoffed. "Please. Your idea of love is nonsense."

"And who would you be to judge?" the vampire asked quietly.

Alustriel stepped forward, brown eyes flashing with anger. "Why are you here, Aero? We're very busy and don't have the time or the patience to play your little games."

The vampire hedgehog looked briefly startled. No one had ever had the guts to challenge him right to his face. "And you are…?"

"Alustriel Prower. GUN agent," she said coldly.

A frown crossed the vampire's lips. "GUN… bloodthirsty monsters. I killed quite a few of them when they killed Maria. It was the bloodiest fight I'd ever been a part of, yet the blood wasn't worthy to feed on. Disgusting."

The blue fox crossed her arms. "I wasn't even born when the ARK invasion took place."

"Still. You choose to work for them," Aero snapped.

He took one step towards threateningly, but her brown eyes flashed angrily and she whipped out her tazer, aiming it right at him. "Don't even think about it."

He hissed. "You think a tazer will stop me?"

"It stopped Robyn's vampire side, which can be traced back to you," Alustriel retorted.

"You're forgetting that Robyn's transformation was incomplete because of that echidna brat. Therefore, her vampire side is much weaker than I am," the hedgehog said coldly.

Alustriel didn't seem fazed. "Don't worry. This isn't the only thing up my sleeve."

Aero stared at her. If one looked past the frustration and annoyance in his eyes, they would have seen a tiny bit of respect for the blue fox. No one had ever been unfazed by him. "Well, then… I can see you make a fine opponent. It'll be a shame when I kill you."

"You lay a hand on my sister, and I will rip you to shreds," a voice said with deadly venom.

Everyone looked somewhat surprised when Zoey walked up next to Alustriel. The red fox's blue eyes were so cold that it felt like the temperature had suddenly dropped. "It's bad enough you've harmed one of my sisters… if you even come near another one…"

Aero turned his focus to her. He fought the urge to lick his lips as he eyed her up and down. The red fox had the figure and the attitude; she would make a lovely addition to his… well. "You must be Alustriel's twin."

"Zoey. Don't forget it," she snapped.

"Zoey," Aero purred. "A fitting name for such a fine woman."

Everyone groaned. Zoey looked disgusted. "Don't you even dare."

"Don't let him get to you, Zoey," Sapphira warned as she walked up.

Aero turned to her. "The final Prower sister… Sapphira, was it?"

"What's it to you?" the purple fox snapped, confirming his guess.

"Such lovely girls… but alas, my heart belongs to the fairest rose," the vampire hedgehog sighed as he looked at Robyn again.

Her dark green eyes flashed and her hand subconsciously lit up with Starfire. "No way, Aero. Not now, not EVER."

"Deny it all you want, Robyn," Aero said with a smirk. "You'll always be the fairest rose… and one day, you'll be MY fairest rose."** (A/N: Credit to BlackSandHeart for the original use of the phrase "fairest rose".)**

His eyes flickered from Sonic to Shadow, then to Tails and the sisters before finally settling on Kelly. "Even if I have to tear some hearts out along the way."

Kelly growled. Sonic, Shadow, and Tails clenched their firsts. Zoey, Sapphira, Alustriel, and many others glared. Katherine opened her mouth to retort but a familiar voice caused her to grin. "You won't be tearing any hearts out while I'm around, 'brother'…!"

Katherine's grin widened and Shadow smirked as Aero froze. He knew that voice all too well. A growl escaped his throat as he glared into the trees. "Show yourself!"

A red blur jumped out of the treetops and landed in front of Aero, causing the vampire to step back and scowl. The blur turned out to be a red hedgehog with a single black streak down his arms and legs and aqua-blue eyes. He was wearing wave-patterned binders, gauntlets, shades and jet shoes similar to Shadow's. Katherine couldn't stop grinning and Shadow chuckled darkly as Aero scowled again. "It's been a long time… Chaos."

Chaos the Hedgehog smirked. "Indeed it has."

"I thought you had joined Shadow in a pit of despair," Aero hissed.

"I'm not called the 'Original Lifeform' for nothing," Chaos quipped.

Katherine shoved past Aero and hugged Chaos. "Long time no see, bro!"

"Heh… hi, Katherine," the red hedgehog grinned as he returned the embrace.

Shadow nodded to his brother. "Chaos."

"What? No hug, Shadow?" Chaos joked.

Shadow rolled his eyes. "I don't hug often. You know this."

Chaos stuck his tongue out at him. "Anti-social."

"So you're Chaos?" Robyn asked as she came forward.

Chaos's blue eyes turned to her. "That's me. And you are…?"

"Robyn Prower. Tails's sister. It's a pleasure to meet you," the grey fox smiled as she extended her hand.

Chaos shook it with a grin before turning to Tails. "A sister, huh?"

The kitsune nodded and pointed to the other three foxes. "They're my other sisters. Zoey, Alustriel, and Sapphira."

Chaos nodded to each of them. "That's great, Tails."

"And that's Kelly over there. She's Knuckles's cousin," Tails added.

The blue echidna waved. The red hedgehog turned to Knuckles. "Cousin, hmm? So much for being the last of the echidnas."

Knuckles waved a hand. "Whatever."

Aero looked bored. "Blah, blah, blah, introductions. I should've just taken Robyn while I had the choice."

"Yeah, well, you were never very bright in the first place," Chaos quipped with a smirk.

Several whistles and calls of "Ooh!" echoed throughout the area. Aero glared at his 'brother'. "You. Me. Right now. This should have ended a long time ago."

"I've kicked your ass many times over; I'll be glad to do it again," Chaos smirked.

"That won't be necessary," a voice from the trees said.

Everyone turned to see a pale black hedgehog walking out of the forest. He had pale blue rings around his legs, a scar over his heart, a scar over his right eye, and green reptilian eyes. His quills were shaped like Shadow's, but the stripes were pale blue instead of red. His shoes were also like Shadow's, but they were grey. He had black ordinate-looking rings and black world rings on his wrists and ankles, and he was wearing a black cloak with the hood down. He stopped in front of Aero and stared him down coldly.

Sonic gave him a thumbs-up. "Sup, Strife?"

"Sonic," Strife nodded in greeting.

Robyn blinked. The name seemed familiar for some reason, yet she couldn't put her finger on why. "Who…?"

"That's Strife," Sonic told her, "Another person I know."

Aero did not look amused as he stood up straight. "And who do you think you are?"

"My name is Strife the Dark. It'll be my pleasure when I kill you, Aero the Hedgehog," Strife said flatly.

Aero hissed. "And what makes you think you can stop me?"

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Strife smirked.

"Very well. Do your worst!" the vampire snapped.

Strife glanced at Sonic, who grinned and raised a hand into the air. The others took it as a signal and lined up on both sides of the blue hedgehog. Aero stood there unfazed as he was met with many triumphant gazes. "Is this all?"

Alustriel, growing more and more irritated by the vampire, took the first shot. She whipped out a knife and flung it at Aero. The vampire caught it between his fingers and chucked it back at her. It barely nicked her ear as she ducked. Sonic flipped into a spin-dash and came flying at Aero so quickly that the vampire barely had time to react. The blue blur ran Aero right into a tree without hesitation. Then he jumped backwards as Aero aimed a punch. Chaos drew out his sword and Shadow cracked his knuckles before the two ran towards Aero. Shadow landed an uppercut to Aero's chin and knocked him into the air. Chaos aimed a slash at Aero's ankle but the vampire pulled his legs up at the last second.

Robyn tapped Kelly's shoulder. "I have an idea."

Kelly studied her friend for a few seconds before grinning. "It's been a while."

The two stepped forward. They held their right hands up and concentrated. The others around them as purple lightning-fire surrounded Robyn's hand and blue fire surrounded Kelly's. They put their hands close enough to each other that the two powers merged together. The younger kids gawked while the others displayed some form of being impressed.

"Is that…?" Blaze trailed off.

"Star Arctic Fire!" Kelly proclaimed with a grin.

Robyn laughed as the powers continued to surround her hand and Kelly's hand. "Let's do this!"

The two looked over at Aero, who was floating in the air using his jets shoes. He hissed as Shadow and Chaos threw Chaos Spears at him; several of them hit him in various places while others flew into the trees behind him. He knocked the last one away with his arm, then he put his hands out in front of him. A blob of dark energy began to form while shadows surrounded Chaos and Shadow and restrained them. They struggled while Aero laughed darkly at them. The blob of dark energy got bigger and bigger until it was larger than Aero's head. His fangs poked out in a grin and his eyes were lit with a satisfactory triumph.

"Die!" Aero yelled as he blasted the dark energy at them.

Suddenly, purple-blue fire flew past Shadow and Chaos and slammed into the ball of dark energy, causing an explosion. Aero yelped as he flew backwards and lost his concentration, thus allowing Shadow and Chaos to break free of their shadowy binds. They looked back to see Robyn and Kelly's hands smoking alike with embers of the purple-blue fire occasionally flickering in their palms. Chaos grinned at them while Shadow tried not to smile.

"Thanks, guys!" Chaos grinned as he and Shadow fell back beside the two girls.

Robyn also grinned. "Anytime."

Katherine suddenly jumped in front of them and sliced a ball of dark energy in half with her sword. "Pay attention!"

"Sorry!" Kelly exclaimed.

Vector pulled Cream, Cheese, and Charmy away from the mesh. "C'mon, you three. This isn't safe."

"Aww, Vector! I want to fight!" Charmy protested.

Cream wanted to help too, but she could see Vector's point. Aero would be too much for her and Charmy. "Charmy, Mr. Vector is right. We need to leave this to Mr. Sonic and the others. They can do it… I know they can!"

Charmy didn't look pleased, but he knew she was right. "Fine…"

"We'll call you guys if something goes wrong," Vector promised as he ushered them behind Tails's workshop.

Cream nodded. Vector smiled at her before running back out to the fight. His eyes widened and he stopped in his tracks at he took in the sight before him. The purple fox, Sapphira, was down. She clutched her side in agony as the red fox, Zoey, kneeled next to her and tried to help. Blaze and Silver combined their powers to fling fireballs at the vampire. Katherine was using her sword while Zap, Windy, and Xsus called upon their elements. Xerius had unsheathed his claws and was fighting with lots of strength. Tails was using his energy blaster **(A/N: Sonic Battle, anyone?)** while Knuckles and Kelly fought with the sheer strength of their clan. Sonic, Shadow, and Chaos were using a combined spin-dash move while Espio used his exploding ninja stars. Strife was nowhere in sight, but several times there were dark spears coming out of the trees.

Vector frowned, distracted by the observation. This gave Aero the opportunity to grab Espio and throw him at the crocodile. The two grunted and slid across the ground, sending dirt and grass into the air. He used dark energy to combat the psychic fireballs from Blaze and Silver before hitting both of them with dark energy spears. Blaze emitted a strangled cry as she fell back and Silver stumbled into Katherine, who dropped her sword in shock.

"Silver?!" she exclaimed before gasping in pain as Aero appeared behind her and slammed his foot into her back.

Windy growled and blasted a gust of wind at Aero. He slid backwards and ended up splitting the combo of Sonic, Shadow, and Chaos into separate pieces. Shadow crashed into Zap and received the shock of the cat's lightning attack. Sonic collided with Xsus and got drenched in water, causing the hedgehog to yelp. Chaos hit Xerius and received several nasty gashes from the silent warrior. Aero smirked and blocked an oncoming punch from Knuckles before grabbing the echidna and throwing him in the path of Windy's next attack. The echidna ended up flying into a nearby tree with a wince-inducing THUD.

"Knuckles!" Tails and Kelly cried.

The kitsune flew towards his fallen friend, but Aero appeared in front of him and blasted him backwards with a ball of dark energy. Tails hit Kelly and both toppled over with a combined yelp. Robyn gasped in great alarm. "TAILS! KELLY!"

Alustriel clenched her fists. Something inside her snapped and she hollered with rage. She lunged at Aero and delivered a ferocious punch to the vampire's nose. He went flying into a tree behind him and ended up breaking it in half. The top half toppled over and caught Windy in a mesh of branches and leaves. The grey cat emitted a loud cry, causing Strife to appear out of the tree. He tried to help her while Alustriel continued to beat the crap out of Aero. Robyn glanced around at the others and took note of their conditions. Then she ran over to Tails and Kelly.

"Are you two okay?!" she asked worriedly as she knelt down beside them.

Kelly coughed. "A little… winded…"

"Sorry, Kelly," Tails mumbled as he rolled off of her.

Robyn ruffled the fur on her brother's head and helped Kelly sit up. "Is that it?"

The light blue echidna nodded. "Yep."

A pained shriek brought their attention to Aero and Alustriel. Robyn gasped again. Alustriel had been holding her own just fine, but now she was clutching her side in agony. Blood oozed between her fingers, and the grey fox spotted the blade of a knife sticking out of her sister's side. Aero had Alustriel's head leaning back with an almost iron grip on her hair. His eyes gleamed triumphantly. He used his free hand to swipe some blood from the blue fox's side and licked his fingers.

"Delicious," he said with a smirk.

"Get away from her!" Robyn yelled as she stood up.

The vampire's eyes flickered to her. "Ahh, Robyn… care to take your sister's place? Or will you leave her to her fate in MY hands?"

Robyn froze. Her jade eyes sought Alustriel's chocolate ones. Her sister's eyes were somewhat panicked and pained, but there was also a sense of determination and will power that hadn't been broken yet. Alustriel's gaze told her _Don't do it._

"No, big sis!" Tails exclaimed as he grabbed Robyn's hand.

"D-Don't do it, Robyn!" Shadow grunted as he forced himself up.

Sonic shivered from the accidental water attack. "He's trying to t-trick you!"

Robyn looked around at her friends and family. Their gazes all said the same thing as Alustriel's. Then she looked back at Aero. "…Let her go…"

Tails's eyes widened as Robyn pulled her hand away and began walking towards Aero. "Robyn, no!"

Robyn's ears flattened upon hearing the desperation in her brother's voice. However, she forced herself to keep moving. She stopped a few feet away from the vampire, who was eyeing her with undisguised lust. "I said let her go."

Aero smirked and released his grip on Alustriel's hair. The blue fox dropped to her knees, still clutching her bleeding side. Aero held a hand up and the nearby shadows wrapped themselves around Robyn. She winced but refused to make a sound. The others watched with wide eyes as Aero slowly moved towards the grey fox.

"At long last," Aero breathed, "I can finish what I started."

His fangs poked out again in a grin. Robyn could see the sharpness of his teeth and winced as she remembered how much it had hurt the first time. A tear slid down her cheek as the others began crying out in protest. _I'm sorry…_

"AERO! STAY AWAY FROM HER!" Sapphira screamed.

"Robyn! Fight him!" Sonic yelled.

Robyn shook her head. "I'm sorry…"

"Say hello to your new life, Robyn," Aero smirked before he lunged at her.

"NOOOOOO!" a voice yelled.

Robyn's eyes widened as a blur penetrated her peripherals and blocked Aero from sight. Aero almost skidded to a stop, but he couldn't halt himself from how powerful his lunge was. The vampire's fangs sunk into the neck of the grey fox's savior, resulting in a pained cry. It was the cry of a child. Robyn's scream echoed throughout the area as she stared down at a certain light blue echidna who was bleeding from Aero's fangs:

"KELLY! NO!"

**And CUT! =P  
Robyn: ARE YOU KIDDING ME!?  
Sonic: Nomad, how could you!?  
Tails: Not Kelly!  
Yeah, you guys probably hate me right now. Hehehe.  
Kelly: I prefer 'dislike with an immense passion!' D:  
Y'know, it's fun when you're the one writing the cliffhangers. If you're not, then it SUCKS. But still, I'm sorry! Anyway, Chaos and Strife have finally appeared (if you want to know who they are, look up Chaotic Hedgehog for some stories on Chaos and Strife the Dark 152 for a story on Strife). Not only that, but several people are injured and Kelly has thrown herself in harm's way for Robyn again! Is Kelly gonna become a vampire?! What about the others that are injured!? STAY TUNED!**


	16. Aftermath

***re-reads the chapter for the millionth time* Eh. I hope they don't mind that not much happens in this chapter…  
Robyn: Are you kidding me? There's the whole issue of Kelly and the others that are injured!  
Well, yeah… but that's all that happens! XP  
Sonic: She has a point.  
Robyn: *grumbles, then snaps her fingers* There's also-  
Zoey: *slaps her hand over Robyn's mouth* Shhh! No spoilers!  
Robyn: *glares*  
Err… hi my precious readers! Sorry for that little interruption. Robyn's just mad because I left Kelly to suffer in the end of the last chapter. To the reviews!**

_**raeweis:**_** Hahaha! Cliffies! I'm glad you liked the chappie, and I hope you like this one too! See ya 'round!**

_**The Forgery of Cow 71:**_** Ooh? Just a ":P" face? I'll take it as a good thing.**

_**BlackSandHeart:**_** Hahaha! I had fun writing Katherine kicking Shadow and then Shadow trying to cover his word choice. The part with Aero and Alustriel was definitely an "EWW!" moment. Aww, poor Xsus! *hugs him* Ooh? Someone I know? I'm intrigued now. Thanks a lot! XD And yes, NOT KELLY! And yes, a cliffhanger! Ooh… hi, Windy! Hehe, she's broken me before so it's okay. Haha, knockout by a tree. Sorry XD and I'm glad you guys were excited for this chapter! :D tell SandHeart I apologize xD**

_**Strife the Dark 152:**_** Hehe, "This is War" reference! :D and I love Tails's blaster! Yes. Aero is always a douche. *sighs disapprovingly*  
Kelly: *waves at Strife* :D**

_**Chaotic Hedgehog:**_** Hehehe. Aero goes boom! XD and yes. I thought you would enjoy seeing Chaos and Strife appear. NO! KELLY! You're theee… 3****rd**** person to say something like that (I think SandHeart had the best reaction xD).**

_**Cor Amicus:**_** Yes, it's a big mess. The part with Shadow and Katherine was fun to write! And Chaos being his typical joking self. Ooohhh… cliffhangers. Gotta hate 'em. Don't worry though! The chappie is here!**

**Disclaimer:**** (Continued from the last chapter)  
Sonic: *runs by screaming his head off*  
Zoey: *running after him* SONIC! GET BACK HERE!  
Sonic: NOOOOOOOOOOO! NOMAD IS GONNA SCAR ME FOR LIFE!  
Chaos: *sighs as he leans against a tree* How long do you think this is gonna last?  
Strife: A while.  
Kelly: Definitely a while.  
Robyn: *sitting on a branch above Chaos. She sees something etched in the bark behind Chaos* Hey, Chaos… can you move? There's something on the tree bark.  
Chaos: *moves and looks at the tree* It's the disclaimer! "Robyn, Aero, Zoey, Alustriel, Shawn, and Kelly belong to Nomad. Sapphira belongs to Nomad's sister. Katherine, Xerius, Zap, Windy, and Xsus belong to BlackSandHeart. Strife belongs to Strife the Dark 152, I belong to Chaotic hedgehog, and everyone else belongs to SEGA."  
Sonic: *runs by again*  
Kelly: Where is Nomad, anyway?  
Strife: Zoey took care of her.  
Robyn: O_O**

Chapter Fifteen

Time seemed to slow down as Kelly fell to the ground with Aero's fangs embedded in her neck. Robyn screamed in horror before she fell from her shadowy binds due to Aero's lack of concentration. Blood oozed from the echidna, who was trying to fight the vampire. Aero seemed somewhat repulsed, but at the same time the blood was calling for him. It had been a while since his last meal...

"LET HER GO! ! !"

Aero glanced up in time to see a spiked fist slam into his face, followed by a ball of Starfire. Reluctantly, he tore aware from the struggling echidna and hissed at Knuckles and Robyn. "How dare you interrupt my work!"

He glared down at Kelly. "Especially you."

Kelly managed a weak smirk. "I wasn't... going to let you... hurt her... again..."

"Kelly..." Robyn knelt down and gathered the echidna in her arms. A tear slid down her cheeks as she placed a finger on Kelly's wound. "You didn't have to..."

"Yes I did... you're needed... more than ever," Kelly gasped between spazz attacks.

Aero looked at both of them, then at all of the angry eyes around him. With a huff, he disappeared into the trees. Knuckles growled and started after him, but Robyn held a hand up to stop him. "Leave it, Knuckles! Kelly needs you...!"

Knuckles stared at the tree, and then at Kelly. "What do we do?!"

Robyn looked afraid. "I... I don't know...!"

By now, several of the others had gathered closer around them. Sonic put a comforting hand on the grey fox's shoulder and looked around. "Any ideas?"

"Would getting the venom out work?" Tails asked shakily.

Everyone looked at Robyn. She bit her lip. "I... I can try..."

"Robyn... I trust you," Kelly whispered.

More tears slid down the female fox's cheeks. She kissed Kelly's forehead and then bent down to close her mouth around the wound. She tried not to cringe as the sweet taste of Kelly's blood entered her mouth. Then the venom was mixed in and she relaxed a little. Several times she pulled away to spit out a concentration of Aero's venom. Kelly seemed to calm down as most of the venom was removed from her body. When Robyn pulled away for the last time, Kelly smiled at her before passing out.

"I think it worked," Xsus said with a small smile.

Everyone sighed in relief. Then Robyn stood up in alarm and ran over to Alustriel. The blue fox was pressing a strip of her uniform to her side to apply pressure to the knife wound. The knife was on the ground and coated with Alustriel's blood. Robyn shivered as she looked at it. Tails walked up next to her and grabbed her hand, offering some comfort in the form of a gentle squeeze. It was enough to distract the grey fox from the bloody knife and she smiled at Tails.

"Ace!?" Rouge fretted as she ran over to her friend.

"I'm all right," the blue fox grunted.

"Talk about a battle wound," Sonic said as he appeared on the other side of Robyn.

Alustriel slowly stood up with one hand still pressed against her side. She emitted a dark chuckle in response to Sonic's comment. "That's just one."

Seeing raised eyebrows, she carefully lifted her shirt up a little bit. Traces of an old bullet wound were etched on the lower part of her stomach. "This one put me out of commission for a while."

She let go of her shirt and tapped a spot above her left knee. "Shot with two poison darts here."

Then she shrugged. "And I've been knifed Chaos knows how many times."

Sonic whistled lowly. "Been through hell and back, eh?"

"Up, down, and all around," Alustriel said with a hint of a smile.

A groan caught their attention. Robyn winced. "We forgot about Sapphira!"

They quickly ran over to the purple fox. Luckily, she wasn't as bloodied as Alustriel and Kelly- Zoey had seen to that. The red fox cracked a grin as Alustriel, Robyn, Sonic, Tails, and Rouge gathered around. "Sapphira has something that she wants to say."

Robyn knelt down next to her twin. "Yes?"

Sapphira smiled weakly at her. "Robyn... I need..."

"What do you need?" Robyn asked as she tried not to smile.

"I need... coffee."

The others except the Prower siblings fell over anime-style. Alustriel shook her head at Sapphira, who was snickering. "You and your coffee."

"Got a problem?" the purple fox shot back as she sat up.

"Are they always like this?" Sonic asked Robyn as he stood up.

She laughed and nodded. "Even as kids."

Shadow grunted a few feet away as he stood up. "K... Katherine...?"

"I'm... okay," the cat gasped as she sat up.

She looked at a certain white hedgehog. "Silver...?"

He groaned. "Oww..."

Blaze also groaned. "That hurt."

Strife walked over with a conscious but bruised Windy on his arm. Zap was the first one to reach the pair. He took Windy and allowed her to lean on him. "You okay, Wind?"

"Never better," the grey cat said dryly.

Xerius offered a hand to Chaos. _"I apologize, Chaos. You startled me."_

The red hedgehog managed to grin as he took the offered hand. "It's all right. I'll be fine."

Cream, Cheese, and Charmy came running from the back of Tails's workshop. Cream threw herself at Xsus while Cheese floated above their heads and 'Chao'ed away. "Are you hurt, Xsus?"

"Nah, I'm fine. But I accidentally soaked Sonic," the cat giggled.

Cream also giggled. Charmy flew over to Vector and Espio, who were sitting up and brushing dirt off of themselves. "Way to get distracted, Vector!"

"Shut up, Charmy!" the crocodile snapped.

Robyn couldn't help but giggle at the various conversations. Then her eyes landed on Knuckles, who was holding the unconscious Kelly close. The red echidna was bruised, but he was standing just fine. She walked over to him and smiled a little. "How're you holding up?"

"I've seen worse," Knuckles shrugged.

Robyn nodded. Knuckles's purple eyes met her jade ones. "I want to thank you, Robyn. For saving Kelly."

The grey fox blinked. "Oh... you're welcome."

"And I'm not just referring to now," the echidna continued. "I'm also talking about the time you spent protecting her from Shawn."

She smiled. "You're welcome. Always."

"Big sis!"

Robyn turned around to see Tails coming towards her with Sonic and Shadow trailing behind him. Her eyes lit up and she welcomed her brother into her arms. "Hi, sweetheart."

"I was thinking that we could move people into my workshop. Just to make sure everyone is okay," Tails said.

The grey fox nodded. "We especially need it for Kelly. Let's do it."

**-XxXxX-**

"You failed miserably," Shawn said flatly as Aero stormed into the room.

The vampire glared at him, but said nothing. He started throwing various objects across the room, either breaking them or putting noticeable dents in the wall. The orange-eyed echidna watched unamused as Aero threw a temper tantrum. _Pathetic..._

"This is the second time your sister has prevented me from having Robyn! It should have been over and done by now!" Aero seethed.

He finished by punching a hole in the floor. Shawn rolled his eyes as Aero growled. "Are you quite finished?"

"I'll show you who's finished!" the vampire yelled as he lunged at Shawn.

The light grey echidna rolled his eyes again as he stepped out of the way before elbowing the back of Aero's head, hard. The vampire flew into the wall and left several cracks along with a hedgehog-shaped dent before falling onto the ground. He growled as he pushed himself up from the floor and glared at Shawn again. "You dare!?"

"Yes. You're acting like a child," the echidna snapped.

Aero opened his mouth to spit out a comeback, but then Eggman entered the room at that moment. "What is going on in here?!"

"Aero is throwing a temper tantrum because he couldn't get Robyn for the millionth time," Shawn reported.

"Quiet, you little-"

"Aero!" Eggman barked. "That's enough!"

The vampire felt his fangs sharpen and several drops of venom dripped onto his tongue. He was seeing red as he glared between Shawn and the doctor. Eggman looked a little uneasy and Shawn was still incredibly passive. Finally, Aero growled ad left the room, eager to blow off some steam. The doctor sighed as he watched him go before turning to Shawn.

"He concerns me, Shawn. If he gets anymore reckless and loses more control over his emotions, it could cost him severely," he said.

Shawn shrugged. "Let him figure that out for himself."

**-XxXxX-**

It was dark.

Kelly groaned. She slowly put a hand to a sore spot on her neck. She could feel two puncture wounds and a bit of dried blood. A wave of puzzlement washed over her. _How did I..._

Then she remembered. _Robyn. Shadow energy. Aero. Fangs. Pain. Blood. Venom._

She groaned again. _Did I... become... one...?_

"Kelly?"

The echidna smiled upon hearing a familiar voice. "Robyn... wait, where are you? Why can't I see you?"

The fox laughed. "Open your eyes, silly."

Kelly's eyes shot open. "... Oh."

She immediately raised her other hand to shield her eyes from the light. Out of the corner of her eye, Robyn's relieved face swam into view. "Kelly."

"Hi~" the echidna sang.

A chuckle came from her right. "Interesting way to greet someone after you've woken up."

Kelly turned to see a certain cobalt hedgehog with green eyes and a world-famous grin. Her eyes lit up and a grin covered her face. "Y-You're...!"

"Sonic the Hedgehog. I take it you're a fan?" Sonic grinned.

Kelly nodded excitedly. "I always looked forward to seeing you kick Eggbrain's butt. Robyn and I watched whenever we could."

Sonic eyed the female fox knowingly. "Oh you did, did you?"

Robyn blushed. "Shut up."

"It was so cool!" Kelly continued like nothing had happened. "Bam! Pow! And then the spinning and the running. IT WAS AWESOME!"

She bounced up and down excitedly. "I'm so glad to meet you!"

"And it's nice to meet you," the hedgehog grinned as he leaned over to hug her.

When he pulled back, Kelly punched the air. "Score! I got a hug from Sonic the Hedgehog!"

Robyn laughed. "Don't let yourself get overly-excited, Kelly. You need to take it easy after what happened earlier."

The echidna nodded. "I remember taking the hit for you, and then you sucked the venom out."

"Most of it," Sonic said grimly.

Robyn held up a piece of paper. "According to the tests Tails ran, you still have small traces of venom in your body. It spread pretty quickly. So... you might have slight vampiric characteristics."

"... Great. Life-long goal accomplished," Kelly deadpanned.

Sonic snorted. "I like your sense of humor, kid. If only Knuckles had it."

"I HEARD THAT!" an enraged shout came from the hallway.

Robyn's eyes widened a little. Sonic sweatdropped. "That's my cue to leave. See ya later, Kelly."

His eyes rested on Robyn for a few seconds before he gave her a crooked smile and jumped out the window. The grey fox blinked and then started when Knuckles plowed into the room. "Where is he!?"

"Gone by now," Kelly said.

Knuckles seemed to calm down a little bit when he saw his cousin sitting up in the makeshift bed. "Hey, Kels..."

"Hi," the female echidna replied.

Robyn smiled softly. "I'll leave you two to some family time."

"See ya later, Robyn!" the echidnas said in unison.

The grey fox chuckled as she left the room and closed the door. Her ears pricked as murmurs of conversations went on in the other rooms. The Dimension Jumpers and Chaos were in the room next to Kelly's. The Chaotix were across the hall. Rouge, Alustriel, Zoey, Sapphira, and Tails were in the room next to the Chaotix. Blaze and Silver were further down the hall with Cream. Strife and Shadow were around somewhere. Sonic had disappeared outside, so Robyn decided to look for him.

She found him sitting in a tree by the edge of the clearing. A grin curled her lips as she spotted an apple on the ground. Quietly, she picked it up and threw it at Sonic's leg. It hit him dead-on, and the hedgehog fell off the branch with a yelp of surprise. He landed on his stomach and groaned. Then his ears pricked as Robyn's dainty laughter filled the air. He looked up to see the grey fox with a hand stretched out to him.

"Need a hand?" she giggled.

"Did you seriously just lob that apple at me?!" Sonic exclaimed in disbelief as he took her hand.

The female fox started laughing again as she pulled her blue friend up. "Maybe I did, maybe I didn't. Whatcha gonna do?"

"Oh, I dunno... maybe THIS!" Sonic yelled as he tackled her.

Robyn shrieked as she hit the ground. "SONIC!"

Sonic laughed as he rolled off of her and jumped to his feet. "Betcha can't catch me!"

He sped off into the woods. Robyn blinked and then grinned before getting up and brushing dirt off of her clothes. "You asked for it!"

She took off into the woods. Due to her being a vampire, she was very quick. Maybe not as fast as Sonic, but she could definitely keep on his trail. "Ohh, Sonic~!"

The blue hedgehog glanced behind him and yelped when he saw Robyn catching up to him. "What in the... how did you-"

"I'm a vampire, remember?" the fox called out with a grin.

"Well, crap!" Sonic replied before speeding up.

Robyn laughed as she continued to run. Dodging trees was always tricky but fun. Plus the look on Sonic's face was hilarious. "Crap would be the loose term!"

As soon as she was close enough, she lunged at Sonic. The hedgehog yelped again as he fell forward. The two started rolling around on the ground, laughing as they tried to pin each other down. Dirt and grass flew into the air as the two wrestled, casing several small creatures to run in sheer panic. Sonic and Robyn were too busy to take notice, though.

Finally, Sonic managed to come out victorious and pinned Robyn down. The blue hedgehog grinned. "Gotcha."

The grey fox grinned back. "So it seems."

Both took several deep breaths as they stared at each other. Emerald eyes met jade ones while Sonic moved his hands off of Robyn's shoulders. The grey fox looked away first when she heard a bird chirp and gasped softly. The blue hedgehog followed her gaze and his eyes widened. They had ended up near a beautiful lake. The water was clear and rippled softly as ducks swam across. There were several flower bushes on the other side and the grass was very green. The sun was beginning to set, casting various shades of orange, red, pink, blue, and purple across the sky. Words could not express the simple beauty of the place.

"Wow," Robyn breathed.

Sonic nodded as he got off of her. He quickly ran to a flower bush while Robyn was sitting up and came back with a white daisy. He showed it to her, then reached a hand up to brush her hair back from her face. He placed it next to her ear and carefully arranged some hair around the flower so it wouldn't fall. The fox's gaze never wavered from the hedgehog as he worked.

He grinned when he leaned back a little after he finished. He made a picture frame shape with his index fingers and thumbs, closing one eye as he did so. "Beautiful."

Robyn blushed. "Thanks..."

Sonic put his hands down and stared at the fox. It was a picture-perfect view of her sitting next to the lake, blushing. He wanted to mentally capture the moment. He was definitely positive that he liked her; the thought made his cheeks turn a little red. He knew that she kind of liked him, but just how much? He leaned forward a little, watching as her eyes grew a bit wide. His lips hovered over hers, ready to drop down... yet he couldn't bring himself to do it. Something in her eyes prevented him from doing it. Instead, he lifted his head and gently kissed her forehead. Robyn looked at the ground and placed her hand on top of Sonic's, closing her eyes briefly.

Sonic pulled back after several long seconds. "I..."

Robyn smiled. "It's okay..."

The hedgehog scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "We should... uh... get back to the others."

He stood up. A thought came to him as he extended his hand to the female fox. "Have you ever gone at supersonic speed?"

Robyn shook her head. "No..."

"Remind me to take you sometime," Sonic said as he pulled her to her feet.

The two began to walk away. Sonic found himself keeping hold of Robyn's hand when they entered the forest. The grey fox blushed as she followed her friend, completely unaware of a pair of eyes watching her from the trees...

**-XxXxX-**

A familiar figure emerged from the trees once Sonic and Robyn were out of sight. Hurt eyes stared down the path they had taken. A sob worked itself free from their throat and echoed throughout the area, causing several startled birds to take off in flight. Not caring, the figure turned tail and ran for the lake that Sonic and Robyn had just admired.

Another figure appeared in the trees as the first figure stopped by a flower bush- the bush of white daisies. A scream of frustration ripped through the air as gloved hands tore at the flowers. The second figure watched for several seconds as tears soaked the ground. Then they jumped down from the trees and walked over to the grief-stricken person. "Stop that."

The first figure looked up and their eyes widened. "A-Aero...!"

Sure enough, it was the vampire hedgehog. He chuckled. "I'm not here to hurt you."

The figure huffed. "Yeah, right..."

"I speak the truth. You see, I share your pain. This also affects me," Aero said.

The figure eyed him. He smirked. "If we team up, we can both get what we want. It's very simple, really."

"How can I trust you?" the figure demanded.

Aero shrugged. "That is your decision."

The figure looked at the ground, seriously contemplating his offer. The vampire tried not to laugh. Mortals were so easy to convince, if you asked him. Then again, he was the master of manipulation. "Well?"

The figure slowly looked up. Then a gloved hand was extended to him. The hedgehog smirked as he took the hand and shook it. When he was done, he pulled his hand back and eyed the heartbroken hedgehog with rosy quills and jade eyes like his beloved Robyn's. The damsel-in-distress role seemed to fit her perfectly.

"Welcome aboard, Amy Rose..."

**Yeesh. Aero doesn't give up. So Robyn has managed to save Kelly for the most part, everyone is now in Tails's workshop, Sonic and Robyn have an almost-tender moment shared and now Amy has joined Aero! Things are getting more interesting by the moment. *chuckles* Anyway, the next chapter of "Ruby Eyes" will be out before the next chapter of "ADR". We'll see how Sonic and Elythia fare against Eggman and some familiar faces will also appear. As for "ADR", all I'm saying is that the gang will need a new place to stay, one that is large enough for everyone to stay in... see ya later!**


End file.
